The Hunger Games : The Republic
by OhDearNotAgain
Summary: The Story of Europeans exploring Panem. Superpowers, Hunger Games and the Capitol. OC story. The Hunger Games doesn't belong to me.
1. Chapter 1

*** Hola, chicas! Qué tal? Well, here's the first chapter of my Hunger games fanfiction. Listen, as of characters from the novels, you'll have to look out for them, because this is meant to accent the way the people of the districts live, it doesn't focus on Queen Katniss. Te quiero!***

**CHAPTER ONE.**

Loading Message - Loading Message - Loading Message - Loading Message - Loading Message

_Your mission is top secret and any disclosure of information will result in the termination of yourself and team-members. Your task is to infiltrate the inner regions of the country of Panem, which lies across the Atlantic Ocean. There you will be expected to blend in and observe the people of this country, as well as obtaining any information that may aid the Republic of Europa. You are alone during this mission._

_This message will terminate in one minute._

END OF TRANSMISSION - END OF TRANSMISSION - END OF TRANSMISSION - END OF TRANSMIS

Imogen looked up from the mission detail. Flexing her fingers, she watched them glow with poisonous energy that would kill any normal person. She stretched her arms and legs, clad in a skin-tight suit that would cut seconds from her personal best.

Berlin's Training Academy was the top education facility in the whole of the Republic. She looked out of her dorm window, and noticed grey clouds forming on the horizon. With a sigh, she picked up the message and put it in the bin, smothering it with a pillow. She ignored the strange look she received from her dorm-partner, Eliza, and left the room swiftly, pulling on her favourite jacket. A few steps later, she heard a _bang_ and a shout form the girl she'd left behind. Smoke poured into the corridor after Eliza.

"Imogen!" she shouted. "I told you to stop putting your missions in the bin!"

Imogen ignored her. She was required at the track, and if she was late the Matron would kill her. Not literally, because she was the best warrior in her region. Her hands glowed menacingly if someone was in her way. One touch and they'd burn painfully for hours.

Flicking her blonde plait over her shoulders, she jogged the length of the corridors in anticipation of her race. Her opponent was the most difficult of them all: Herself.

The Berlin Training Academy sat in the middle of the city, overlooking the three rings that surrounded it. In the middle was the Academy, and accompanying it were various council buildings, used to control the Region of Germany. The first ring was for the more wealthy citizens of Berlin; the ones who owned the majority of the region. Many had holiday homes in places like the Ruhr, once known for industrial power and immeasurable source of coal. However, that had run out of wealth years ago, and had been transformed into the ideal holiday destination.

The second ring was a place of trade and the residential area for any who could afford it. Imogen had lived in the second ring, with her parents. Before her compatibility results arrived, and she was brought to the Academy.

The third ring was more of a slum than a ring. Containing many buildings of what was known as "Old Berlin", the place was outdated and a hub for organised crime. She'd been sent there to placate the masses during one of their many riots. Not many were serious; crops and bad harvests, taxes, wages, rights. Imogen snorted; imagine having rights. She didn't have rights, as of her thirteenth birthday she'd belonged to the state. And it was here that she'd remained for five years.

She exited the building into the rain. The cool water tapped her closed eyelids, and she smiled with a sudden sense of calm.

"What are you standing there for?" the familiar, gruff voice of the sports manager caught up with her. "Get over here!"

Imogen found her feet took her to the starting line, and only really began to pay attention when the gun went off. Her powerful leg muscles pushed her forward towards the white tape that glowed against the dismal landscape. A few seconds later, and she was skidding to a halt after rushing through the ribbon. Her shoes slipped, and she felt head over heels, grazing her hands and knees.

She finished up on the grass that circled the track, near the sandpit. Her hands had burnt a large black circle in the ground, and were throbbing with energy. Trying not to concentrate on the pain, she stood up shakily, scarlet blood running down her left leg. So she'd fallen harder on that side? Ah yes, a graze on her left elbow proved it.

"Are you alright?" the woman asked her.

A safe distance away, of course. She didn't really care, she only wanted Berlin to remain at the top of the Republic, and that meant keeping the region's Champion safe.

"I'm fine," Imogen breathed deeply, and felt the energy fade from her palms. "I need to go to the bunker."

The bunker had been built in case of a Nuclear War. The Academy's governors soon realised as well as hiding people from radiation outside, they could hide radiation inside and prevent the damage of the academy's students. Imogen had spent the majority of her time training in the bunker. She even had a bed in there.

She crossed the grass, some of it still hissing with the heat of her radiation, despite the rain and cool breeze. Her attention was drawn to a girl with long black hair, tied back in two plaits that reached her waist. The girl wore a band around her upper arm – a foreigner.

The band was two colours, a line of white and then scarlet beneath. What region was that…? Poland? The girl was another Valkyrja – the protectors of the Republic – and for some reason wasn't in her own region. Who was she? Imogen scowled as she knew she'd never know the answer to that question without asking a senior official, and that would only result in punishment. Classified knowledge was taboo, and that girl was sure to be classified.

With that thought buzzing around her mind, she grit her teeth and entered the bunker.

***Okay, it'll start slowly, but bear with these small chapters, they're more of an introduction into what Europe's doing at the time of Panem. It'll get better! I hope…***


	2. Chapter 2

*** Introducing the main characters now, you should be able to understand the point of this fanfic now, I promise ;) Please bear with and enjoy! Then again, if you don't read it, it's not the end of the world. Never mind! :D ***

CHAPTER TWO.

George narrowed her eyes and looked out of the window. The plane was shaking violently with turbulence. She yawned, stretching her arms and placing them behind her head as a pillow. Across from her sat Tori; she was playing with three metal orbs, the small globes hovered above her fingertips.

Alannah sat a little further away, her chin resting on her fist. She'd crushed so many things on this journey due to her nerves; she was confined to her own seat, far away from everyone else.

George chuckled to herself, earning more than a few glares from their babysitters. Okay, they weren't called that, but she couldn't really pronounce their proper name, the Garmr.

She tugged absently at the band around her left arm – white, with a red cross. It was an annoying thing, and she wished she could take it off. If Europa was a Republic, surely everyone was the same, why was there any need for regions?

She knew why. Some were profoundly richer than others, even now after the disappearance of America all those decades ago. Almost a century had passed, and the Republic was worried. That's why they'd received those weird, destructive messages. And now they were being sent to Berlin, of all places. Apart from Rome, this was the centre of the Republic. Rome was the symbolic head of the Republic, and government was held there, but the power and the wealth lay within Germany's borders.

George returned to the window, and glared at the grey clouds around them. If only she could just turn invisible and slip off away from this stupid plane, the stupid country and the stupid scheme. Who had the idea to test for compatibility, anyway?

Ninety per cent of the Warriors were female, otherwise known as the Valkyrja. The ten per cent left were the male Einherjer, and normally were considered weaker than their female counterparts.

The plane was descending. Tori looked up from the metal orbs, and moulded them into a small bracelet.

"We'll be there in a matter of minutes," one of the Garmr said gruffly.

George looked at her; she had flaky, scaly skin. Cracks ran up her cheekbones and across her forehead. The mark of those with less than eighty per cent compatibility. If you didn't react well to the mutation-serum they injected you with; that happened to you. The Garmr had little time left, from the looks of her. Soon, she'd just crumble into bits.

Why risk it? Because if you were a Valkyrja, your family was fed and housed until your death. That's why she joined.

A screech told her that they'd arrived. She tugged at her band once again before standing. Tori copied her, and Alannah was already at the door, ready to exit the plane.

Germany didn't look unlike England. Or was it that Berlin looked like London? Not really caring enough to trouble herself over it, George followed Alannah and Tori down the steps out of the plane. It was wet.

"We have a better airport in England," Tori commented.

"This is the port for the Academy, not the whole Region," George corrected her.

Tori blinked. "I hate Berlin."

A Garmr cleared her throat, and the girls became quiet. The Berlin Training Academy was tall and white, helping it stand out against the grey skyline. Alannah was frowning.

"I see," she murmured. "This way we don't see all the crappy bits of Berlin, only the Academy."

George and Tori nodded in recognition of her comment. A woman in a suit was waiting for them; her expression stern, her hair stern, her glasses stern; she was a scary-looking woman.

"Welcome to Berlin," the accent was noticeable. "I trust you had a safe journey?"

She looked at the aircraft, a load of rubbish compared to the sleek, smooth liners that were in the German Council's possession. The three Valkyrja nodded. She looked like she was trying to smile, but the woman grimaced at them in the most unbecoming manner. Tori almost took a step back.

"I'm afraid the others are already seated and waiting for you," the woman walked away from them, obviously expecting them to follow. "The conference will begin as soon as you enter the hall."

The building they were taken to looked like someone had dropped a huge ball on the ground. It was shiny and white, as most of the buildings in Berlin were, with black stripes that George assumed were windows.

Entering, the girls were each placed in a small pod, and sent through a large doorway into the sphere-like conference room. The pods hovered up into the hall, where the English bowed and were then taken to the sides.

In the middle were three Hábrók, or councillors, who were leading the conference. Two were German, and another was Russian, judging by their armbands.

It was polite to face the Hábrók and pay full attention to them, but it was too tempting to turn around and look at the others.

There was Tori and Alannah, they were two pods away. Between them was a girl with blonde hair, and a-

"Einherier!" George murmured.

The boy cocked his head slightly, and he looked at her, fleetingly. Georgina blushed, and faced forward. He'd heard her? He placed two fingers to his temple, and grinned.

_Relax, I know it's your first time seeing a guy, but it's really not that much cause to be excited,_ the voice in her head made her blush, and she opened her mouth to say something.

The boy lowered his hand, and was laughing to himself quietly. She glared at him, but began to listen to the Hárbók. They were going through the mission, and she wished she'd listened.

"Do you understand?" the Hárbók asked, their eyes narrowed.

Those assembled nodded, and George felt she had to; she couldn't be the only one who didn't listen. The boy was still laughing at her, so she ground her teeth together to stop herself blowing him off of his pod and onto the floor. He raised his two fingers to his temple again, but received a glare from his Garmr.

They were dismissed, and taken to an apartment at the top of the academy. Luxury was the only word to describe it.

As the lift reached their temporary home, the group emerged into a wide open space. This room was surrounded by windows, but the view was hindered by a copious amount of rain that marred the skyline. All the furniture was white; a colour the Germans seemed to aspire to.

Bedrooms were situated on a corridor to their left, and a balcony was through a door on their right. A large mahogany table stood on an elevated platform, laden with equipment. George supposed it was meant to be for meals and gatherings.

The German girl pushed through the group and examined the objects on the table. She picked up a chain-link rope and fastened it to her belt. She examined a compass, a new electronic model, German-made, of course.

She looked at them all, still in the lift.

"Are you going to get out, or…?" she raised an eyebrow.

The Polish girl left the lift first, followed by Tori and Alannah. George moved to leave the glass box, and found herself wedged shoulder-to-shoulder with the Einherier. The boy looked at her, and slowly moved backwards, grinning. He beckoned for her to move forward, which she did, pulling a face of distaste.

She looked around at the others, who were examining the gear. One was a Polish girl; she was examining a pair of binoculars, and laughing about something with Alannah. An easy-going person would be fun to get along with, George decided. She noticed that the boy had overtaken her on her way to the table. His armband declared his Spanish heritage, and he grinned at her.

"My name's José," he held out his hand to Tori, who shook. "Call me Joe."

"Tori," Tori replied, a small smile gracing her lips.

The group grabbed some more equipment; George found a bag with survival gear inside, and slung it over her shoulder.

"So, I say we introduce ourselves, and look at this plan," the German said, peering at a map she'd found. "I'm Imogen, and I'm radioactive."

The others blinked, before Alannah remembered what they were meant to be doing.

"Alannah," she smiled. "I break stuff and run really fast."

George sniggered, and everyone looked at her. She cleared her throat. "George, I'm invisible and create big bubbles with my hands that can't break. That's about it."

Joe chuckled. "I'm Joe. I'm telepathic… and if I concentrate can use telekinesis."

"Tori," Tori beamed. "I can create magnetic fields and stuff… And I like to laugh."

The others laughed, and the Polish girl giggled as she spoke. "My name is Paulina, and I set things on fire. Quite a lot."

Imogen looked at the map. She took out a pen, and began to circle different areas.

"This is Panem," she stated, pointing at the colourful diagram. "Or, what we believe is Panem. It's divided into twelve districts, as well as the Capitol, their-"

"Berlin?" George asked, raising an eyebrow.

The German ignored her. "-their centre of government. Apparently there's a great deal of turmoil within Panem. It's our job to report this to the Republic, and…"

She paused. The others looked at each other.

"And what?" asked Paulina, flicking one of her plaits over her shoulder.

"Well, then we await further instructions," Imogen explained dubiously. "But our duty is to blend in with the district we land in."

"Land in?" George asked, still looking at the map.

"Weren't you listening earlier?" Imogen frowned.

George blushed guiltily. "I, err…"

"My fault," Joe apologised.

Imogen rolled her eyes. "We'll be dropped off by plane over Panem. It's fluke as to whether we'll land in the same district, let alone near each other. That's where you come in, I suppose."

She pointed to Joe, who nodded. "If I remember your mental frequencies, I should be able to get in contact with you if I'm close enough."

"Do we know the point of these districts?" asked Paulina, jabbing at the map.

"No, except that the Capitol is essentially in charge. This is where we come in," Imogen explained. "We'll leave at seven hundred hours, and then we're off. It's a long flight, but hopefully in that time we can get to know one another, and survive this mission."

"Are they armed?" Alannah asked.

"As in Nuclear? Yes," Imogen nodded.

The others leaned back in their seats, making small noises of discomfort at the thought. Imogen looked unperturbed, and George seemed confident that no nuclear explosion could destroy her force-fields, and though Alannah had broken the sound-barrier when running, they all seemed a little put-off by this new piece of information.

"We don't have a choice, anyway," Tori's bracelet broke into little pieces and began to orbit her head.

"You're right," Paulina opened her clenched fist and watched flames dance on her palm.

"Best we accept it," Joe nodded.

Imogen smiled. "I think we'll make a good team."

The others grinned at each other, and the group laughed.

***Well, that's the end of Chapter Two! I think I'd better clear a few things up. The **Valkyrja** are a group of female warriors with superpowers. The **Einherjer** are their male counterparts, but are largely weaker than the Valkyrja. The **Garmr** are like Panem's peacekeepers, and though are below the Valkyrja socially, they are still used to control/guard them. The **Hárbók** are Councillors, and are effectively government officials. ***


	3. Chapter 3

*** Welcome to Chapter 3! Where our courageous heroines and hero plunge straight into the alien territory of Panem! GASP. Anyway, enjoy 3 ***

**CHAPTER THREE.**

Paulina was crouching down in the small aircraft. Flames crawled up her arms, and everyone huddled around her in an effort to keep warm. Imogen clipped the parachute onto her back, and gave everyone a last minute smile.

"Good luck, guys," she grinned. "Get in touch, soon!"

And she jumped. The others rushed to the door as she descended rapidly through the clouds. Tori held a map in her hands.

"We should be over the north east corner of Panem," she said. "Who's next?"

"I'll go," Paulina smiled, trying to be brave.

"I'll go straight after her," Joe decided, handing Paulina a parachute.

The others watched as the two of them jumped from the plane, first Paulina, then Joe a few seconds later. George buckled on her parachute, and grinned at Alannah and Tori, who were helping each other into a harness.

"I'll see you guys soon. I hope!" she laughed, before jumping out of the plane backwards.

Alannah and Tori watched her fall, spinning through the air before disappearing into a cloud. The two friends sighed dramatically, before gripping each other's hand.

"Together?" Alannah asked.

"Together!" Tori nodded.

Weightlessness was a strange feeling. Paulina pulled the chute before she hit the ground, suddenly yanked back by an updraft of warm air. She was glad of it; no fire until she was safe on the ground. Or at least until she was so cold she was frozen.

Trees rapidly approached her from below, and she braced herself for the landing.

The parachute snagged on a branch, and she was left dangling, suspended a few feet from the ground.

"Ouch," she gasped, as she dropped to the floor. "Stupid trees."

As if blaming the trees was going to help her, Paulina brushed herself down. Her tights were laddered, but she didn't really care all that much about them. She brushed back her plaits, which were fuzzy due to the journey down.

She clambered across the terrain, conscious of anything that moved. This included two poor squirrels that were subsequently burned to a crisp, and a doe who narrowly escaped roasting. Paulina sighed heavily; it was dark and she couldn't stay out in the open, or someone who see her.

A low humming. A mechanical noise, the bussing of machinery.

"Ah!" Paulina shielded her eyes from the bright spotlight that shone down on her from above.

She screamed as a claw landed right next to her, followed by various harpoons and dangerous objects.

Paulina rolled away, heart pounding and eyes wide open. She could feel her pulse quicken, she felt so alert it was almost dreamlike. This wasn't like training in Warsaw; she could feel the danger creep up her spine.

Her feet pounded the ground as she dodged around trees and jumped over rocks in order to escape the machine.

"Argh!" she shouted, as she tore off her top.

It had been a while since she'd had to strip running, but she found she was still quite good at it; her body burst into flames, and she tore up into the sky, burning the surrounding terrain.

Floating in the air, she saw a large ship hovering in the sky. Gritting her teeth, she flew around the contraption, bathing in in plumes of fire that emerged from her palms. An engine at the side of the machine caught, and exploded in a burst of flames and black smoke. The craft spiralled, before crashing to the ground, a large _boom_ echoed over the landscape.

Paulina looked around her, though she conscious that she was a beacon in the sky for anyone who'd heard the crash. A long fence caught her eye, as well as small houses, something she was glad to spot.

She set about gathering her clothes, and getting dressed. She had always considered her ability aggravating in the sense that it was so inconvenient. She'd preferred her brother's mutation, cryokinesis. At least with ice your clothes didn't burn off of you every time you got angry.

She pulled on her boots, and crawled under a rock-shelf, waiting for the sun to rise, when she'd be able to try and find a way out of the woods and into one of the twelve districts of Panem.

It was dawn when she finally decided to move. Her legs ached as she moved through the trees, stretching out her joints and beginning to run through the forest. She had to find her way to that fence; it seemed the only logical path she could take.

"Oh, come on…" Paulina sighed. "Where is it?"

A snap. Twigs breaking, steps coming towards her. Pilots from the crash last night? She quickly swung up into a tree, her handprints leaving burn-marks on the bark. Positioned on a thick branch, Paulina crouched, waiting.

A boy entered her field of vision, his hands gripping a bow and arrow. He had dark hair, an unruly mop that covered most of his face from her vantage point. His eyes scanned the ground expertly and he examined the base of the tree before looking up into the branches.

Paulina felt her heart jump as they looked straight at each other.

They paused, and she saw his finger twitch on his nocked arrow. She tensed, ready to jump on him, if needs be.

But he turned, and just walked away. He walked quickly, as if eager to escape.

"Hey!" Paulina scrambled down the tree. "Wait!"

Realising she was speaking Polish, she checked herself and repeated the phrase in English. The boy paused in mid-step, and looked at her. He seemed about her age, and looked at her passively with grey eyes.

"Where are you going?" Paulina asked.

The boy remained quiet. "District 12, the seam."

Paulina sighed with relief. "Thank goodness! I got completely lost."

He looked like he didn't believe her, but with a nod of his head, gestured for her to follow him. She allowed herself a smile, and the boy led her through the woods expertly, though he made some noise now and then; obviously he wasn't used to this.

"What's your name?" Paulina asked, hoping to gain some information about this boy and his district.

He gave her a suspicious look, which she ignored. He chewed his lip for a little while, as if debating whether to answer the question. He ran a hand through his hair; Paulina couldn't help noticing the black nails.

"Rory," he said gruffly, not looking at her.

"Paulina," she replied happily, though her eyes darted about her surroundings; she didn't feel safe.

They reached a fence in a matter of minutes. Paulina smiled as the boy listened carefully for a minute, before slipping through a tight hole under the chain-links, emerging on the other side and rushing off over a field with yellow flowers.

Paulina did the same, and when she emerged on the other side, wondered what was going on. Her boots trod in the flowers indelicately, and she climbed up the sloped meadow towards a small group of houses, though they looked more like the shacks you'd see in regions like Serbia.

"Strange…" Paulina murmured, walking down the dusty track that went through the small group.

She could see the boy, who was fumbling with a door handle, and shoving against the wooden slab. It bent slightly; poorly made and weak with age. Paulina went up to him, and kicked the bottom ajar, so the rest of the door swung open. Instead of thanking her, he rushed into the house and slammed the door in her face. Curtains made of rags were whisked shut on a crude window.

"Charming," Paulina pouted, before moving off down the road.

Nobody was out; it was like a ghost town. She shivered; it was creepy and silent, only the wind blowing through the few trees was heard.

She sat beneath one of these trees; someone was bound to come along soon, surely? She looked at the sky. She'd spent most of the day trekking through that stupid forest, which was stupid. Best to get moving, and find a place to bunk down for the night. The real research could go on the next day.

She pushed herself off of the ground, and meandered down the road, trying to look casual but somehow failing at it, as nobody appeared to do anything or even leave their homes. Paulina shuddered. Those shacks were _homes_.

Finally, the houses stopped, and she was left to travel alone, without eyes peering out of windows after her. The road was long and dusty, and the sun was hot above her, but when Paulina could become as hot as the sun, she didn't really care.

She realised that apart from the rare trees and patches of grass, this place, or this District, was rather bland and grey. She looked up at the sky as she walked, the bright blue contrasting with the ground it looked upon.

"Oomph!" Paulina bumped into a building.

She giggled to herself, embarrassed, and wondered how she'd ever become the second most-powerful Valkrja in her region. She supposed if she was less clumsy then she'd be the best.

The building was a big warehouse, probably used for storing something or other. Curious, Paulina travelled around the perimeter until she found the entrance. The hangar doors were open, and inside were lots of people, trading objects like clothes, or food.

"A loaf for your scarf!" a woman approached her, bent with age.

Paulina looked at the red and white scarf tied loosely around her neck. The woman seemed so pitiful that she took the cloth from her person and pressed it into the woman's free hand.

"Take it," she smiled.

The woman looked at the cloth in shock, and then a huge smile lit up the wrinkly old face. She kissed Paulina's hand, and gave her a chunk of bread anyway, before shuffling off towards the exit, murmuring something about her granddaughter's birthday.

Paulina smiled, and noticed a few stall-owners were smiling at her as well. She jumped as one little girl threw her some goat's cheese.

"Thanks," Paulina grinned, and wandered off between the stalls.

She soon realised that her clothes, no matter how dirty they were, we of much better quality than those of the people here. Even her laddered tights seemed a luxury to them. Paulina tucked one of her plaits over her shoulder, suddenly guilty. These people lived in poverty, of that much she was certain.

A hand gripped her shoulder, and she span around, to find Joe, bent over and gasping for breath, as though he'd been running.

He flung his arms around her, and the Polish girl looked surprised. He rested for a moment, and they sat on the floor in the corner.

"Have you seen the state of this place?" he murmured, still acting worn-out.

"Yeah," Paulina nodded, smiling and trying to act happy. "Do you know where we are?"

"This is the hob-," Joe faked a cough. "-a black-market trading facility. We're in District 12, the poorest district."

"How do you know that?" Paulina tried to stop shock entering her expression.

"Listened to some bitter old men," Joe replied. "Have you discovered anything?"

"Not really," she scratched her chin. "But I've seen a few houses, I believe it's called the seam, by the forest."

"Is that where you landed? The forest?" Joe asked.

"Yes, what about you?" Paulina frowned.

Joe paused. "Some place called Victor's Village. I was shooed out of there pretty quickly. However, I had just enough time to burn my parachute."

"Victor's Village?" Paulina pondered the name.

The two of them paused, and voices began to filter into their ears, separate from the hustle and bustle found within the Hob. One pair of hushed voices grasped their attention.

"Are you sure?" a whisper, barely audible.

"I saw it! The hovercraft caught fire, and fell to the ground!"

"Are you sure? I've heard some lunatic talk about a flaming angel."

"No, none of those. Just an engine problem, I suppose."

"Ah…"

Joe looked at Paulina, who nodded, somewhat guiltily.

"They were trying to kill me!" she hissed.

Joe nodded. "They have these things called peacekeepers, they're like our Police Force."

Paulina nodded. Joe placed two fingers to his temple, and closed his eyes, concentrating. He opened his eyes, and beckoned for her to follow.

"Something's going on," he said. "Some kind of touring of the Districts, I'm not really sure."

They found a crowd of people who were at some kind of rally. A few people stood on a stage, declaring their love for each other.

"Star-crossed lovers" was heard over a speaker, and Joe raised an eyebrow.

"Shakespeare," he mumbled.

"Do you think they even know?" Paulina sighed.

Deciding to move into the crowd, Paulina was able to observe the men in white uniforms known as the peacekeepers. They carried gun and batons, for protection, she supposed, and also wore a white helmet with a visor, the sunlight reflected off of them, so she couldn't see their eyes.

_It's a victory tour_, Joe's voice entered her head. _Just listened to some of the guards. Apparently these two kids won the "Hunger Games". Whatever they are._

Paulina nodded, and looked around through the crowd. This tour had to have some kind of transport. Where…?

She noticed a train station. The people from the stage were going there; so that was how Panem was connected, by-

_Train lines!_ Joe's voice in her head again.

Paulina grinned. It seemed they knew how they were getting out of District 12.

*** Ta daa! Next Chapter we see the invisible girl explore Rue's district, the wonderful District 11! :D See what goes down there as she gets into trouble with some peacekeepers… ***


	4. Chapter 4

*** Welcome to Chapter 4! Here we arrive in the picturesque District 11, with it's cruel, controlling peacekeepers and a protagonist who can't help but get herself into trouble. Wish her luck! ***

**CHAPTER FOUR.**

So she was in the eleventh district. Being invisible definitely helped the places you had access to. The buzzers went off when she passed through the gate into District 11, but as the guards saw no-one meander through, a mechanic was called in to fix it.

Lots of dark-skinned folk, George noted, wandering through the streets. It was uncommon to see people of such skin in the Republic, the darkest were travellers and merchants who wandered freely between regions, making and selling beautiful rugs and clothes.

She was sitting in a tree now. There were lots of trees here; orchards spread farther than she could see, and there were also vast fields of corn and other crops. Some berries George had never encountered before, so she steered clear of eating them.

There were children in the tree with her, but of course, they couldn't see her sitting on the branch above them. They were singing, a lot of them, and then they'd pause and listen for something. George frowned, chomping on an apple.

Finally, a little boy sang the tune, and they waited. Quietly, a small whistle replied to his song with a higher, trilling version. The children laughed, and the boy sang again. More whistles answered, and George realised they were birds.

"What?" she murmured, dropping her core and climbing higher into the tree.

A small group of birds, they looked like mockingbirds, sat whistling the tune happily. The children giggled below, and George found herself smiling as well.

She watched and listened to the birds a little while, before humming tune of her own, back from England. It was called "Scarborough Fair", and though she wasn't the best singer, the birds cocked their heads, listening.

Finally, after two recitals, the smallest bird trilled the notes. The children looked up, upon hearing this newest song, and gaped at the birds.

"They know a song! What song is that?" one little girl asked, as she threw apples into a large basked that rested on the ground.

"Did they make it up?" another boy asked, older than the rest. "Hey! Hey! Come listen to the Mockingjays' song!"

George watched as a crowd formed around the base of the tree. Adults, tall and strong from years of hauling themselves into trees and carrying large basked of crops, called up to the children, who were trying to hush the growing crowd of people.

"Listen!" one told them.

The mockingjays were twittering nervously, before one began to whistle _Scarborough Fair_ in a high voice. The people below murmured at the alien tune, and began to hum it themselves. The children laughed at how now the mockingjays were teaching songs to the adults, instead of the other way around.

"What's going on here? Get back to work!"

George spied a man in white, wearing a helmet with a visor. On his belt was a gun and a baton. His presence made the crowd disperse, and her paused, before reaching down to the ground. He picked up something she couldn't see.

"Who did this?" he shouted towards everyone who was wandering away. "Who's been eating the crops?"

The adults began to murmur and whisper amongst themselves, and George realised he was holding up her apple-core. She watched, intrigued. A whole orchard full of the fruit, and he was worried about one apple core?

He was pushing right up into the face of a huge man, his dark complexion and large muscles were unlike any George had seen before. George felt confused. In the Republic the guy in uniform would be punched in the face for his insolence.

"Did you do it?" he grabbed the leg of a child in the tree, and yanked the boy down.

It was the smallest boy who'd shown George how to teach the birds beforehand. She coloured with anger, and moved towards the end of the branch, looking down upon the spectacle.

"No! No, I didn't!" the boy cried, reaching out towards the tree as if for protection.

Shouts arose from the crowd, and the man with the visor took out his baton. He gave the boy two sharp whacks on the shoulder, causing the boy to cry out in pain. The crowd quietened.

"If you don't own up!" the visor shouted into the crowd. "This boy will be whipped instead of you!"

Nobody stepped forward. The visor bristled and nodded.

"Fine! I suppose I'll beat him to death right here!" he rose his baton, gritting his teeth.

George didn't really know what she was doing when she dropped onto the man with the baton. Being invisible, the people gasped with shock at the man suddenly crumpling before them. Appearing, the people shouted out in dismay at her appearance. She brushed her hands off on her trousers, and stepped off of the man, who was groaning on the floor.

She picked up the boy, and pushed him into the crowd.

"Sorry," she picked up the apple core. "Mine."

A child from high up in the tree alerted them to the arrival of more "peacekeepers", causing the crowd to panic. They grabbed her, and pulled her deep into the orchard. She saw her little boy, rushing ahead, telling the workers what was going on, and they had to protect the girl with the brown hair.

George was pushed into a bush of berries as more white uniforms passed, and she took this chance to look up at the workers around her. There was a woman, with a headscarf tied around her hair. She had under one arm a small basked of berries, and looked around her, searching for more uniforms. There were two men, tall and dark, arms covered in bands of muscle. Three children, one her own boy, and the other two girls.

"Stay quiet!" they whispered to her. "Wait for the call!"

She sat there for what seemed like hours. The people seemed to swap shifts watching her, so as not to arouse suspicions. She could turn invisible, they knew this, why didn't they leave her? Then she realised, in that one moment of foolish bravery and rebellion, she'd won their hearts. Her boy sat with her in the bush, smiling behind his hands.

"I'm Louis," he whispered, grinning.

"George," she replied gruffly.

The mockingjays started to sing, a four-note song, which made Louis' smile disappear, and then suddenly come back. As hundreds of pairs of feet tramped past, he took some dirt and rubbed it into her face. She tried to fight him off, but the woman from before was behind her and doing the same thing. They tied a scarf around her head, and thrust a basket in her arms.

"Follow us!" they whispered. "Keep your head down!"

She did as she was told, and they followed the crowds through the orchard. A dark arm rested over her shoulders, and she realised it was the woman, who walked with her head high, as if she was fiercely proud of something. Men had fallen in around them, and George was hidden by a bulk of bodies.

They walked for a while, until person by person the crowd thinned, and George found herself bundled inside a small house. It was a simple wooden shack, but quaintly decorated. Louis bounced onto a chair, and grinned at her like a fool.

"Thank you for rescuing me!" he laughed.

"Hush now, child!" the woman told him.

George assumed it was his Mother. She then went into another smaller room, and revealed that there was a spare mattress for George to sleep upon. The girl was stumped, she was a guest already?

Examining one of the two photographs on the poorly-made mantelpiece, George saw Louis and a girl in the picture.

"That's Rue," he said sadly. "She's dead."

"How did she die?" George asked, feeling her heart drop at his tone of voice.

"She was selected for the Games," the mother came in, and shook a blanket out of the door.

George's expression was blank, and the woman looked at her strangely.

"This year's games," she said, as if that would explain it.

George shook her head. "I'm sorry… Games?"

Louis' mouth dropped open and he looked to his Mother. She seemed just as shocked as he was.

"The Hunger Games? May the odds be forever in your favour?" she tried to explain her point with extravagant hand-gestures.

"Nope, sorry," George shrugged.

Louis beckoned her to sit with him on the floor. She did so.

"The annual Hunger Games is when the Capitol takes one boy and girl from each district and makes them fight," he explained, his voice strangely chilling due to his childlike tone but serious topic. "Only one person survives, and Rue died."

"What did Rue do wrong?" George asked, her eyes wide with shock.

"She was picked out of the lottery," the Mother sniffed, suddenly preoccupied with looking out of the window.

George squeezed Louis' hand. "Is this how the Capitol controls you? By killing your children?"

"Each year," the woman nodded. "And Rue was one of its last victims…"

George stood from the floor, and rested a hand on the woman's shoulder. To think that the oppression here was such that they'd make innocent children kill each other. The woman smiled at her, her eyes becoming puffy from the recent tears.

"I'm Thandi," she smiled. "That's Louis, my son. Rue was my daughter, but… she's at peace now."

"How old was she?" George asked, watched Louis roll about on the floor with a makeshift ball.

"Twelve years old…" Thandi sighed. "A beautiful, clever girl."

George patted her arm comfortingly. She had to find the others, because this had to be reported to the Republic. What were these games? And what was their real purpose?

*** Panem's getting weirder and weirder for the Valkyrja, the only thing to do is to keep exploring and gather more data about these Games… Next Chapter we join Alannah and Tori, who are preoccupied with escaping District 5, and a runaway tags along! ***


	5. Chapter 5

*** Alas, finally at Chapter 5. It was hard to depict District 5, it's a shady place that isn't concentrated on much, and so I had to picture in my mind the powerplants. If you're displeased with it, you can stuff it and stop reading, can't you? Anyway, let's join Tori and Alannah… ***

**CHAPTER 5.**

Alannah and Tori examined the metal fence. Electricity buzzed through it constantly, something which bothered both of them. They'd landed in a meadow, and their parachutes were hidden in a hollow, dead tree which looked as though it had been shot by lightning.

They were in District 5, and soon Tori had figured out that this place generated power for the entire country. They had nuclear, wind and solar power. Approaching the metal pillars and columns that buzzed with electricity, Tori had flown up to examine the district. The tall fence spread all around them, even leading up to a mountain range on what Alannah's compass told them was the North West side of the District. The rest of the District was a flat plain, covered in different means of creating power – whether this was the wind farms to the east, the nuclear plants in the west, or the solar plains in the south. Alannah kept a look-out below, wary of any of those guys in white.

"This place is huge," she said. "We need to get out now."

They'd explored a small town, and noticed like most other buildings, the houses were built out of big grey bricks. They didn't look attractive, unlike the upper rings of most large, Republic cities.

"I almost miss Berlin," Alannah joked.

They spent most of their time lounging around on street corners, waiting for gossip to pass them by, but soon they'd had enough, and were looking for a way out.

Now they stood in front of this metal fence. Tori held out her hands, and the metal links peeled away to create a doorway for them both to walk through. Tori lifted her hands to repeat the process and close the arch, but a shout made her turn her head.

"Wait! Wait!" a boy was sprinting towards them, and bag slung over his shoulder.

He rushed through the gate, and Tori closed it behind him, frowning as he bent over, gasping for breath, holding Alannah's arm to steady himself.

"Thank- thank you!" he grinned. "How did you do that?"

Tori shrugged, hoping he'd drop the issue.

"No, really! How can you do that? With the fence?" he asked, still smiling like an idiot.

"You tell us what this place is," Alannah said slowly. "And then we'll tell you."

The boy's smile dropped slightly, but then he nodded with enthusiasm.

"Sounds fair," he said, walking into a forest that surrounded the outside of the fence. "I'll tell you, but we have to get moving, or the peacekeepers will find us and we'll be the next load of Avox for the Capitol. If we're lucky."

Frowning, the two girls followed him into the woods, the boy occasionally touched trees and leaves, making noises of excitement.

Their trek lasted the whole day, with the boy insisting they go further and further into the woods. Tori liked to fly up into the canopy of the trees, and peer around them. Now they were so far that District 5's solar plains were just a dark blob on the horizon.

"Let's set up camp," Alannah pulled off her boots, and squeezed her aching toes. "Ouch…"

She'd been speeding off into the distance to check for enemies, and so had walked/run three times the distance that Tori and the boy had.

"I'm Rufus," he grinned, taking off his backpack.

They were hidden in a small cave, and Tori decided they must have climbed a mountain for the past day.

"Alannah," Alannah pouted, still stretching her feet.

"I'm Tori," Tori told him, lighting a fire.

Rufus had gingery hair and a light splash of freckles over his nose, and nodded enthusiastically.

"So? How do you do your stuff?" he asked. "You two are like… superheroes!"

Tori laughed, and Alannah grinned.

"We've been mutated," Alannah smiled, raising an eyebrow.

"Like a muttation?" Rufus' mouth dropped open. "No way! Did the Capitol make you?"

The two girls gave him such an incredulous look he immediately took back his previous statement. Alannah put down her feet, and leaned back against the rock, looking at the small fire Tori had created.

"We come from the Republic," she said slowly. "It's across the ocean, far away from Panem."

Rufus was leaning forward, not believing his ears. He looked to Tori, who nodded at Alannah's explanation.

"We had a programme which tests people for compatibility with the mutation serum," Tori explained. "We were compatible, and so we were given the serum and trained as warriors."

Rufus beamed. "Am I compatible?"

Tori and Alannah looked at each other, and both of them took a small gadget out of their pockets. It looked like a little black box with a screen, and a needle came out of the top, covered with a plastic cap. Rufus eyed the thing warily.

"This tests for compatibility," Tori shuffled across the cave floor towards the boy. "Roll up your sleeve."

Rufus hesitated before doing so. Tori pricked him quickly, and he made a small noise. A few seconds later, the box beeped, and a number glowed on the screen.

"Sorry, you're only twenty per cent compatible with the serum. It would kill you if we administered it," Tori shrugged.

Rufus laughed. "Ah, never mind."

Alannah leaned forward. "Now, tell us, what is this place?"

Rufus paused. "Well, how much do you know already?"

Alannah and Tori exchanged looks. "Not much."

Rufus nodded. "That makes sense. Well, this is Panem, and you and I have just escaped District 5, the power district. We all have to work there, although I maintain the solar panels; I clean them every day."

"So, what are these districts?" Tori asked.

"There are twelve, not counting the capital," Rufus nodded. "Each one has a different job."

Alannah nodded, and threw another stick on the fire. Rufus took a pen and some paper out of his bag.

"Here," he pointed to a crude map. "This is Panem, right? Over here… is the Capitol. They're in charge, and they use everything the Districts make, get it? Err… so, these are all other districts, and here's us. Oh! And this is District 13. They bombed it at the end of the last rebellion… Nobody lives there now, but it's okay."

"What are the men in white?" Tori asked.

"Peacekeepers? What they sound like. They stop us making a fuss," Rufus took some bread out of his bag. "Here."

The girls took a chunk of the bread; it was strangely shaped, but tasted good. Rufus grinned.

"I can't believe I'm out!" he laughed.

Tori and Alannah looked at one another, and chewed slowly on their bread.

*** So Alannah and Tori have a source of information of their own, in the form of Rufus! :D He's a sweet kid, if a tad annoying. Next Chapter: Imogen's landed in District 13? Wasn't that place destroyed? GASP. ***


	6. Chapter 6

*** Imogen and District 13, as she's way more nuclear than the supposedly deserted District, how will things go down? ;) ***

**CHAPTER SIX.**

Imogen looked at the guards at the door. She could melt through that in a few seconds, and take them out in less than that. But she needed information, and the best place to find it would be here. She was confused; District 13 of Panem was recorded as destroyed.

The guards stood to attention as a woman with straight grey hair and a stern expression entered the room. She glared at Imogen, and took a seat opposite her.

"Now… do you want to tell me why a large number of my soldiers have severe radiation poisoning? Or will I have to wrench the information from you?" she leant over the metal desk that laid between them.

Imogen felt a familiar feeling of annoyance rise in her throat, and she placed both of her hands on the table. The woman watched them glow; the metal began to hiss and bubble under the heat of Imogen's palms, before both hands disappeared through the holes that she'd created.

The woman stood, and looked at a radiation badge on her jacket. It had turned from green to red as soon as Imogen's hands started glowing, but she hadn't noticed until now.

"I want you men outside the door at all times. Nobody in here for over five minutes," she commanded, before striding from the cell.

"Yes, President Coin," they saluted, and marched outside of the cell.

One of the soldiers, a young man by the name of Jayk, sent Imogen a smile before the door closed. He was a nice boy, if a little young to be carrying a weapon. Fourteen was young, in Imogen's eyes.

She'd stumbled around the District for the whole day, before coming across the team of guards. She'd been wary of them as soon as they pointed their guns at her. She'd gripped one - she didn't like weapons being pointed at her - and melted the thing. She'd then persevered with the attack as they open-fired, spreading poisonous radiation all around them. A few burned then and there, but someone managed to hit her around the back of the head with the butt of a gun.

She was angry at herself for letting that happen, she supposed she'd underestimated her opponents.

The door opened, and Jayk entered with a tray of food. Well, food was a bad description. Grey slop in a bowl with a glass of water. The boy grinned at Imogen, and paused before leaving.

"Say… how do you do that?" he asked, looking at her hands.

"It's a secret," she replied.

He chuckled, and left the cell. Imogen inspected the slop, and then vaporised it by inserting a glowing finger into the weird concoction. She drank the water gladly, and melted down the glass, before moulding it into what was supposed to be a small bird.

"Oh well," Imogen shrugged, throwing it to the floor, where it cracked in half.

She inspected the walls critically. Traditionally, one of these was a window; she could escape that way. Gently tapping the wall as she walked the perimeter, it took three cycles to be sure of the right wall.

She paused, before raising a glowing fist. Allowing the impact to release a tiny burst of nuclear energy, Imogen watched the reinforced glass smash in front of her. The woman with grey hair stood behind it, her eyes wide with shock. Imogen grabbed her shirt.

"Tell me what I want to know," she threatened. "Or I'll destroy everything, right here, right now."

The President hesitated, as the soldiers present raised their guns. She nodded.

"Fine, if that's how you want to play it," she frowned. "Escort this woman to my quarters."

Imogen leant back and stood in her cell, waiting. Jayk wasn't there, something she was a bit annoyed at. But the four guards that had their guns pointed at her as they walked were quiet, which was nice.

President Coin's quarters weren't lavishly decorated, but they were in better condition than the few other rooms Imogen had seen. Her blonde plait tossed over her shoulder, she took a seat that the President gestured at.

"Now then…" the President waited.

"Imogen," Imogen answered frostily.

"Well, Imogen," the President glared slightly at her attitude. "What were you doing above ground?"

"Looking," she didn't lie.

"But didn't you see the smouldering ruins of District 13 on the promotional video at the start of the Games?" the President leaned forward over the desk.

"No," Imogen stated truthfully.

"No?" the President laughed. "Lying will get you nowhere, Imogen. Tell me, are you one of the Capitol's muttations? You realise we consider this an act of war?"

"I am not of the Capitol," Imogen frowned. "Is that your leader?"

The President looked somewhat insulted. "No. We are an independent state of our own. But I'm not the one answering questions here, _you_ are."

Imogen leant back and crossed her arms. "Ask away. But I warn you, some information is classified."

"Who created you?" the President jumped straight in.

"My parents, did yours not create you?" Imogen's eyes narrowed.

"You expect me to believe that?" President Coin snorted.

Imogen raised an eyebrow. "Believe what you want."

The President was quiet for a few moments. "What do you do with your hands? What is that?"

Imogen sighed. "I can cause Nuclear energy to build up within the palms of my hands, and this can either explode or I can use it to melt things… I'm highly radioactive, as well. But I've been taught to keep this under control."

"Who taught you?"

Imogen paused before answering. "The Berlin Training Academy."

The President frowned slightly. "And how did you gain this… power?"

"A serum that causes the surfacing of a mutated gene that is believed to be the next form of evolution. However, you need to be compatible with the serum, so only a few of us can do things like this," to illustrate, her palms glowed menacingly, exuding a strange humming noise.

The President leaned back in her seat, pressing her fingers together and leaning them on her mouth. Then, she sat forward, a curious expression on her face.

"Why, exactly, are you here?"

"That's classified," Imogen retorted quickly.

"If you don't tell me I'll have you confined to a bunker."

"You don't think I can escape?"

"Not this bunker."

She sounded so confident that Imogen checked herself. A small piece of information, but not all.

"We are here to observe," she said begrudgingly.

The President smiled; she'd got her. "We?"

Imogen geld back swearing at her foolishness. "There are several Valkyrja here at this moment, spread throughout the districts."

The President looked like her birthday had come early. She smiled, and informed the guards that Imogen had full access to all of District 13's facilities. Both Imogen and the guards looked confused at this, but they were dismissed.

Once outside, Imogen paused. What was her game?

*** I'm a tad worried for Imogen, President Coin seems like a nasty piece of work, if you ask me ;) But as you didn't, I'll tell you that Next Chapter we re-join Alannah and Tori, now that they're "free", what will they do? ***


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN.**

Alannah zoomed forward through the trees, narrowly dodging branches and boulders that sprouted out of the ground. She was just getting used to this terrain when she came across a railway track. _How odd_, she thought, gently stepping onto the track, but avoiding the two metal strips that buzzed and hummed with electricity.

_Why is it up here in the mountains?_ She wondered, dawdling along the track. _Oh! I have to tell Tori._

Tori was climbing the mountain slowly, with Rufus chattering along behind. The two of them had reached an unwritten contract: Rufus could talk non-stop if he allowed Tori an odd comment now and then to prove she was listening. Which she wasn't.

"-so I think it's rather unfair and kinda cruel, don't you?" Rufus asked, watching his feet climb.

"I do like beans," Tori nodded.

Alannah blinked; what had they been talking about? She ignored this, and informed Tori of the railway. Tori grinned, and the three of them charged up the hill with renewed vigour. Upon approaching the tracks, Tori looked to Rufus.

"How often do trains come?" she asked.

Rufus shuffled his feet. "I don't really know, since I've never been on one."

"You've never been on a train?" Alannah's eyebrows rose.

Rufus shook his head, and Tori knelt by the tracks. She placed her ear to the soft earth, as if trying to hear anything come along the tracks. She grinned, and sat back on her heels. She pointed to their left, and Rufus and Alannah looked that way.

"Some kind of freight train," she stated, floating up into the air. "Yeah!-" she called down. "-it's not too far away!"

Rufus moved back towards the trees, but Alannah stopped him with a firm hand. She had to be careful, she was too strong, and could break his thin limb easily.

"But shouldn't we hide?" he asked.

Alannah shook her head, and they watched as Tori landed on the tracks. The girl waited for a few minutes, during which Rufus was dancing about with worry, despite Alannah still gripping his arm. The girl crouched, and told him to get ready.

"What?" she tossed him over her shoulder, and began to run.

Tori lifted her hands as the train came roaring towards them, lumps of coal flying out of the troughs that were on top of the wheels. The metal bulk stopped just in front of her, and she immediately flew up into the air, as a few engineers stumbled out of the train, confused. From above, Tori could see Alannah and Rufus burying themselves in one of the many troughs of coal.

As she engineers returned to the train, it began to move again, and Tori landed in the coal with her friends.

"Do you have any idea where this is going?" Tori asked Rufus.

Alannah was leaning over the side of the truck, looking at a big white number. She leant back, and then peered down the end of the long limes of trucks, some were empty.

"All the roughs are empty," Alannah told them. "Except the one with a number 1 on it."

"How many numbers?" Rufus asked, and idea flickering into his brain.

"Err… It goes up to 12. Oh! The Districts!" Alannah laughed. "I see, so this is on the way to the first District, right?"

"I assume so," Tori nodded, looking around her. "I wish it was a passenger train. Then I could down in comfort."

"Do you think their trains are like those in the Republic?" Alannah asked.

"What are trains like?" Rufus asked, interested.

"Well…" Tori paused. "Where we come from they're like long silver snakes. Do you have snakes here?"

Rufus nodded. "Some a poisonous."

"Err… okay," Tori blinked. "Well, these trains are segmented, though they shouldn't be. One part is for Valkrja, and another is for the poorer members of society. The other part is for those who can afford it, and as there aren't many of those, it's a small section."

Rufus' mouth made a circle, and he let out a small "Oh". Alannah chuckled, and buried herself down into the coal; wanting to take a nap. Tori followed suit, and told Rufus to keep a look out. The ginger boy grinned, and nodded enthusiastically. Tori knew he wouldn't be so excited next time, look-out was a boring task.

She let her eyes drift asleep; how was she meant to report to the Republic if she had no way of contacting the others? She was annoyed at the lack of organisation that had gone into this mission. Sure, they were the most powerful women on the planet, most likely, but they couldn't work miracles.

With that thought buzzing about in her head, she tried to get some sleep.

*** Whoa, Tori's got a lot of thinking to do. It's pretty obvious her target's the capital, but as they have no idea how to get there, it seems District 1 is their first stop. Home of Marvel and Glimmer, how will they survive the Luxury District? Next Chapter: George in District 11 as the Victory Tour rolls into town! ***


	8. Chapter 8

*** George in District 11, and she greets the Victory Tour in an extravagant fashion ;) ***

**CHAPTER****EIGHT.**

George followed the crowd; Louis had her hand in his, and his two sisters were rushing ahead of them. The rest of the family had come by later that night, including a Father, two sisters and an older brother. George had apologised for her intrusion, but news of the peacekeeper had reached the ears of most District 11 workers. The men in uniforms were now very strict and it was bearing down hard on the citizens, though they accepted their treatment and simply thanked George for saving an eight year old boy from being beaten to death in the public quarter.

It was through the public quarter they walked now. The family stuck together, and Louis told George sadly that it was a victory tour.

"Victory Tour?" George repeated.

"If Rue had won," Louis was quiet. "Then she'd be on the tour."

George nodded. So the winner of the Hunger Games was paraded around the twelve districts? An awful way to remind the people of Panem that they had no control over themselves or their children, dead or alive. A stage was set up, and on the stage were a number of people. Though two of them were at the forefront. George watched the little family push to the front, though she remained in the middle of the crowd, hidden by people who kept patting her shoulder. The family had been through so much already, by protecting their other child she'd gained a status throughout the District.

The people on stage were talking. About Rue! George pushed forward slightly, and then a man next to her whistled a strange tune. Four notes, it was distinctive and lovely. George looked at him, and realised men in white were pushing through the crowd towards her. She braced herself for the attack, but they grabbed the man who'd whistled. Looking around, she noticed the crowd were saluting the girl on the stage. Who was she?

The crying family were huddled together at the front, as the two teens were escorted off of the stage. George watched as the whistler was taken onto the stage. She frowned, confused. What were they-?

The girl from before stumbled onto the veranda, and George watched a gun placed at the base of the man's skull. Before she could stop it, she felt the shot shudder through her.

"No!" she whispered, pushing forward through the crowd.

The other girl was being dragged back inside, and George pushed forward, as she heard two anguished cries. What now?

One of Louis' sisters, being pulled up the stairs. An elderly woman, as well. What was wrong with these people?

A gun was lowered to the girl's head, ignoring the screams and cries of her Mother. George pushed forward, creating an impossibly hard bubble over the girl. The bullet ricocheted off of the shield and hit the firer in the arm. The man stumbled back, crying out in pain. George scrambled onto the stage, the bubble disappeared and she pushed the child off of the stage and into the crowd, who immediately swallowed her up.

"Shit!" she shouted, as a sharp pain blossomed in her right thigh.

They'd shot her! She disappeared, causing gasps from the crowd who hadn't believed the stories told about the weird invisible girl in the orchard. She stumbled down the stage, and bumped into a couple of men, who had the sense to grip her and pass her through the crowd.

Hundreds of dark hands gripped her invisible arms, and pulled her through the mass of bodies. She was reunited with Louis on the other side, and the boy dragged her limping form past some peacekeepers and out of the crowd. He pulled her behind a tree, where she appeared, gasping and reaching for her bleeding leg. She gripped it tightly, gritting her teeth against the pain. If she cried out now, both she and the boy would die.

She hastily unbuckled her belt, but her red fingers were slippery, and she had to get Louis to take it off. The boy did so, his small hands shaking slightly. She fastened it tightly around the top of her leg. She breathed deeply through her nose and out through her mouth, trying not to cry.

Finally, Louis' Father appeared, and picked her up like she weighed nothing. The man carried her swiftly and silently to their home, where she was sat on a mattress, still gripping her leg. Thandi appeared a few seconds later, with the children, carrying some bandages a neighbour had given her. She also fetched some tweezers from a small drawer.

"Roll her over, and hold her down," she instructed her husband and oldest son.

"What-?" George felt herself be flipped over by the husband, who then pinned down her legs, while the son gripped her arms tightly.

"Here," Louis' younger sister placed a roll of toughened leather between her teeth. "Bite on this, go on."

George did so, and saw that the tweezers were being held in the fire, and now were glowing hot. She felt her trouser-leg being ripped open, and then something sharp poking her wound.

She jolted up, but the weight on her legs and arms held her down. She bit down painfully hard on the bit, burying her face in the mattress as the bullet was swiftly removed from her leg. Hot blood began to pour down her leg.

Bandages were swiftly and expertly applied, and George was finally allowed to roll over. She examined the bullet critically.

"Ouch," she mumbled, causing Louis to giggle. "How's your daughter?"

"She's perfectly fine, thank you," Thandi smiled. "And the old lady, Thresh's Grandmother, she's shaken, but no wounds."

"Good," George didn't know who Thresh was, but she was glad anyway. "I wish I'd saved the whistler."

"He was a brave man," Thandi said slowly. "But foolish. His actions almost caused the death of another of my children. I will not let the Capitol take another of them."

Her children were looking at her with wide eyes. Her husband kissed her cheek, and George smiled. Such a wonderfully brave family, in the midst of all this turmoil. She resolved to meet with her own family once she returned to the Republic. She hadn't seen them in years. Apparently her brother was an Einherjer now. She smiled, though it was a small, sad smile.

*** Ah, a glimpse into the past of our Invisible Valkyrja! But other than that, Next Chapter we see Paulina and Joe try to escape District 12, heading North… But we all know what District lies North of 12… Do they know where they're headed?***


	9. Chapter 9

_Hola! Okay, so here's Chapter 9, with Chapter en soon to follow! Hope you enjoy if you're reading. Ha!_

**CHAPTER NINE.**

Joe and Paulina followed the crowd. Paulina's presence was frowned upon, and she noticed that this crowd was largely men, and if there were any women, they were old and stern. A group of peacekeepers, Joe read their minds effortlessly.

"There's someone on the whipping post," Joe frowned. "The guy in charge wants it to become a public execution."

Paulina looked at him in shock, and the two of them shoved through the crowd. The men tried to hold Paulina back, hissing warnings at her, but she responded by burning a few. Ironic, as they mined coal. Joe hesitated before entering the circle where the Head Peacekeeper was lashing a boy little older than them. He was so bloody that even Paulina hid her eyes; she'd not seen torture like this.

Joe looked around, and reached into the mind of a guard. He watched as the peacekeeper reached to stop the whip. He was butted on the head, and knocked unconscious on the floor.

Paulina watched Joe crumple in a similar way, and made the excuse that he was a sensitive boy and that was his friend up there. She _had_ seen the boy before, in that place called the Hob.

"No!" some foolish girl jumped in the path of the whip.

It lashes her across the face once before some blonde guy (nice looking, actually) and an older man took her in hand. These people were dressed in better quality than the others gathered in the circle, and they talked to the head peacekeeper like they were in charge. The man glared, and the boy was cut down from the post.

Paulina dragged Joe away, with the help of another boy, who had the same dark hair as everyone in the Seam. Paulina smiled; she was coming to terms with the words used here. The boy helped prop him up under a tree, and grinned at her.

"He's a bit of a lightweight, isn't he?" the boy chuckled. "Let's hope he doesn't get picked for the quarter-quell, this year."

"The Quarter-Quell?" Paulina frowned.

"Yeh, it's this year's games. Come on, it's all we've been taught about in school," the boy rolled his eyes. "Haymitch Abernathy won last Quell, didn't he? We were told at least twice by- Hang on, I haven't seen you at school."

"Big school," Paulina shrugged.

"No… it isn't," the boy's eyes narrowed.

"Listen," Paulina grabbed the front of his top. "How do you get into the games? If you're not picked?"

"You volunteer!" he said quickly, unnerved by her sudden change of attitude.

She let go of him, and he scrambled away, leaving her to poke Joe until he woke. He sat up, bleary-eyed, and laughed shakily.

"Sorry," he apologised. "Didn't sever the mental connection fast enough."

Paulina raised an eyebrow, but didn't object. "Okay. Anyway, we're going to volunteer for these next games."

"We are?" Joe looked perplexed. "Hmm… Are you sure you want to go into an arena and die?"

"We won't die," Paulina told him impatiently. "Come on, look at them, and look at us. They're all malnourished, and we're not normal human beings anymore, anyway."

Joe nodded. "An unfair advantage."

"Yes," Paulina agreed. "But we're the ones who need to stay alive. And the best way of getting to the Capitol is by entering the games."

A bunch of heavily-booted feet tramped past, and they were noticed. The head peacekeeper gave them a dirty look, and pulled Joe up to his feet. Startled, Joe let out a burst of mental energy that threw the man backwards.

Joe staggered back a few steps, and Paulina dragged him back in order to run away. The head peacekeeper shouted after them, and they could hear the other uniforms chasing them.

"Into the hob!" Paulina shouted, and the two of them darted inside.

As she closed the door, a bullet was shot, and Joe lifted his hands, his face rapidly turning pink and then red. The bullet slowed, and stopped in front of Paulina's face. She slammed the door shut, and pushed a wooden bar across the door, turning just in time to see Joe sink to his knees. Seemed telekinesis really took it out of him.

"Come on," Paulina made to move towards him, but a tremendous blow on the door she was still holding sent her flying backwards.

The impact of her hitting the ground made her send out a shower of sparks. One caught, and Paulina was going to put out the rapidly rising flames when the peacekeepers burst inside. A shower of bullets made her spread more fire, hoping to incinerate them before they reached herself or Joe, who was struggling to his feet.

She grabbed him and pulled him behind one of the makeshift stalls. Bullets crashed into the wooden crates, and Paulina covered her ears. Her eyes scanned the now flaming scene; the peacekeepers were retreating, obviously they thought nobody would survive this.

"Come on!" Paulina grabbed Joe's hand, and they ran toward the wall of the hob, opposite the entrance.

As she gathered speed, Joe reached forward and blasted through the wall, falling limp at her side as he did so. Now, instead of weak, he was fully unconscious. Useless child.

Paulina pulled him onto her back, and rushed for their new exit. The roof collapsed, and she dived through the hole just in time, a shower of spark exiting after them, and spraying the grass momentarily with glowing dots. Paulina brushed Joe off; his left arm had just caught alight. She returned him to her back; they had to get out of there, and quickly.

"We're going to sort out this Head Peacekeeper, understand?" she said to her silent comrade.

As he didn't answer, she just resolved herself to getting him awake, and as quickly as possible.

_Tadaa! What will Paulina decide to do to Thread? She's a fiery one, pun not intended ;) NEXT CHAPTER: View the inner-workings of the equally corrupt REPUBLIC, and meet a new Valkyrja!_

_Hope you all keep reading xx_


	10. Chapter 10

_Well, hello again! Welcome Chapter 10 with open arms, as we now meet a new Valkyrja and Einherer. Nice kids, so no worries about them. Worry about the corrupt government system in Europe!_

**CHAPTER TEN.**

Aimée flitted from post to post, checking all of the computer screens. Anyone watching her would have seen a blur of grey smoke and a small flash of light as she teleported from each area to another. Ben was sitting at his own desk, papers and computers littered around him. He let out an exasperated sigh, and gripped his hair. Angry at himself, he resumed to trying to tune the scanner into the trackers of the Valkyrja on Panem.

"I suppose even extreme intelligence can't help some people," Aimée raised an eyebrow.

Ben sighed. "I can't even see them in the future. They're probably dead, for all we know."

"But their trackers would still work," Aimée frowned, teleporting to him and bending over his shoulder. "Ah! There! What was that?"

Ben twisted a small dial on the side of the tracker screen, gently and carefully, under Aimée's guidance.

"There!" she shouted, almost breaking the screen with the ferocity of her prodding the machine.

"Whoa!" Ben held it out of her reach. "Careful! If I lose them again I'll-!"

"Where are they?" Aimée asked, peering at a blurry map.

"Let me clarify it," Ben put on his glasses, and peered at the coordinates that the map was displaying.

Soon they were looking at the glowing blue silhouette of Panem. Yellow lines represented the borders between districts, and Aimée pointed at Imogen's tracker, now bleeping.

"What on earth is she doing up there? That's not even in Panem!" Aimée gave an exaggerated sigh. "Someone needs to tell the Germans they're doing it wrong… Again!"

Ben watched her disappear, and sighed with relief. He looked into the trackers' memories, and noted that Alannah and Tori were a lot farther away from the others than anyone else. They'd been dropped off in District 5, but were now in the gap between districts. What were they doing? Although they seemed to be travelling straight for District 1. Perhaps they aimed to get to the Capitol. Anyway, the others. Joe and Paulina had landed in and around District 12, and were now apparently together. Imogen, as Aimée had pointed out beautifully, was stuck in the smouldering ruins of District 13. What the girl was doing there, Ben didn't know. Where were the others? Ah, there was George, messing about in District 11. Their plan was to get to the Capitol, why weren't they doing it?

The doors opened, and Ben rose to salute the councillors that entered. Dressed in their usual stupid finery, the group of old men and women entered the nearly empty lab. Ben swallowed; these people served to undermine the young and their management of the tasks that they could carry out so easily, yet these people had to study their whole life for. The invention of the "serum" had ruined them, effectively. So the only thing they could do to make themselves feel good was to damage any sense of self-confidence the youngsters possessed.

Ben linked his hands calmly; his intelligence was more than anyone on the planet, and so if it came to a battle of wits, not a battle of power, he was the obvious winner. However, the Hábrók knew this, and if they had any sense, they'd steer clear of his mind-power. There'd only been one other Einherjer who had been on par with him, and that was only because the stupid boy had crippled his mind using telepathy. No matter, the fool was stuck in Panem now.

"Benjamin," one said, his voice cracking as it was rarely used. "How goes the mission?"

Ben bowed respectfully. "Well, my Lord."

The old man smirked. Elaborate tattoos marrd his already wrinkled and hideous face, but the Hábrók liked modifying themselves now and again. Mainly they wanted to look older. If you were older, you were wiser and had more power. Ben was wise, but his power was at minimum.

"Well? That's not brilliant, but I suppose it will do-!" the Hábrók jumped, terrified, as Aimée appeared in the room, complaining at Ben.

"Why is she in District 13? Of all the places to land, she had to- Ah…" following Ben's horrified gaze, Aimée noticed the Hábrók, red with anger from being surprised in that fashion.

However, their dark eyes now glinted happily under the knowledge that their mission wasn't going well at all. An old woman stepped forward.

"What were you saying about the mission going well, Benjamin?" she taunted.

A few cackles erupted behind her. Ben felt anger blossom in his chest, but he grit his teeth and stared at the floor. Aimée blushed guiltily, and hastily bowed to the Hábrók.

"Miss Scott-Molloy," they smirked. "You must be more careful with those emotional outbursts of yours."

Ben gripped her arm, because he could see her teleporting a kick into the old woman's face. He shook his head ever so slightly, and felt the tense muscles in her arm relax. Aimée straightened her glasses.

"I'll mind them," she said. "Sorry if I scared you."

Their expressions soured. They left hastily, and Aimée made a point of swearing at the closed door behind them.

"Dicks," she finished, glaring at the space where they'd been. "Ergh. I almost can't wait until I'm 30."

Ah, the age of adulthood. At 30, everything opened up for you. Right now, they weren't allowed to do anything. Aimée teleported to her chair, where she span around aimlessly. She sat up and looked at Ben.

"So, how do we get in touch with them?" she asked.

"We wait for them to contact us," Ben replied, examining the tracker once again.

Aimée untied her tie; she hated working in the office. Her shirt was too crisp from that machine that insisted on ironing her clothes. Even her jeans had been tainted. She let out an exasperated sigh, and grabbed a microphone.

"Imogen, Miss Robinson? Can you hear me?" Aimée shouted into the microphone.

Ben looked at her critically. "They're too far away to hear you through that."

Aimée pouted at him, and watched his fingers work away at the temperamental device that was used to pinpoint the group. Aimée hesitated, before looked from Ben back to the microphone.

"They were all given headsets, right?" Aimée wondered.

"Of course," Ben nodded. "But they won't use them. Though they're unnoticeable, the constant buzzing of an empty frequency is enough to drive anyone crazy."

Aimée paused. "But… they _do_ have them."

Ben sighed. "Look, where is this going?"

"I say you fix up this baby to be able to reach Panem. Then we'll be able to get in touch with the others. Get it?" she grinned, because Ben got everything, and he'd certainly get this.

His expression was thoughtful for a moment, before she grinned.

"Alright, let's do it!" he took the microphone from her, and reached for a screwdriver. Aimée handed it to him, crowing in triumph.

"We are fantastic!" she laughed, teleporting onto the ceiling and all around the room. "Whoops, I knocked over your prototype rocket."

Ben ignored her.

_See? Aimée's cool! NEXT CHAPTER: Watch George struggle to protect Rue's family during the uprising of District 11! Whoa~~~_


	11. Chapter 11

_Hiya, guys! Okay, here's Chapter 11, and George is struggling to keep Thandi's brood alive during a full-scale rebellion. Oh, and Ben gets that microphone to work. Yay!_

**CHAPTER 11.**

George woke up, startled. She sat bolt upright on the mattress, and saw the children huddled in the corner, terrified. One of the girls, Lula, was crying. Louis, seeing her awake, ran to her, and burying his head in her shoulder to shut out the noise.

The noise. Angry voices, ripping through the air; the house offered no protection. Lit torches glowed through the threadbare curtains, and daunting silhouettes of men and peacekeepers, each with clubs and knives or guns, were black on the orange screen.

"Come on!" George pulled on her trousers and her jacket, beckoning the children to follow.

They crept through the bedroom, and into the kitchen-space. It was smashed up; how had she not woken to the noise? Well, she had always been a deep sleeper. Louis was gripping her hand, and she made the others join hands in a long line. Even the eldest boy didn't object.

"Hush now," she whispered, mimicking Thandi's favourite saying. "We'll find your Mother."

The children looked at her with big eyes, and the six of them crept through the house and out of the back door. George jumped back as a tall man slumped to the ground in front of her, an electrical wire sprouting from his chest, shocking him. The children screamed, and George hurried them out of the house and past the rowdy mob, who were now throwing bricks at the peacekeepers. The children were now a small ball around her, like how ducklings gather around the mother-duck. She feared for them, though she knew she was more than capable of keeping them safe. They were still holding hands. Good.

She made a break for it, straight towards the orchards. If they could reach the trees-!

Gunfire. She raised her hands, certain that she was the target, and if not her, the children. A bubble appeared in front of her, deflecting any bullets back into those who shot as them. Colourful lights, flares, lit up the sky and were reflected in the shield.

"Go, go!" she shouted to the children, who were frozen in terror.

One hand concentrated on covering them, the other had begun to protect those throwing bricks. She couldn't protect everyone… And there was Thandi. The woman had stopped in mid-step. George made to go towards her, but the woman had smiled.

And blood was pouring from her mouth. George dived for her as she fell to the ground, blood soaking her cream blouse and pouring down her chin. Tears splattered onto her cheek as George lowered her gently.

"The… children…?" the last thought for her children. Always her children.

"I'll protect them," what was she doing? Making such a promise to a dying woman in the street.

With that, Thandi let out her last breath, still smiling. George hastily closed her eyes, and two men picked her up, shoving the girl towards the orchard, telling her to get out of there. She did so, and found the children clambering up a tree. They'd seen their Mother die, and George's heart broke for them. But they'd watched their sister die last year, and death was no stranger to the workers of District 11. The children assured her they'd keep up through the trees as she ran along the ground.

"Keep going!" she could hear the children panting.

Explosions behind them. A warehouse was on fire. Men were being shot down like they were bags of sand in the training arena back home. _Home_.

No, the children needed her. She remained visible for them, but concentrated on protecting their backs with another invisible shield that moved as they did. Didn't want to prevent anyone else's escape.

She stumbled through the long grass beheath the trees, not wanting to tread the regular paths. A screech entered her left ear, and she tripped, gripping her ear.

"Argh!" she yelled, falling head over heels. "What-?"

"Hello? Hello?" a voice in her ear, impossibly loud.

"Jesus!" the girl curled up on the floor, and struggled to get up.

Dark hands were pulling her up. The children-

"Get back in the tree!" she shouted.

They looked hurt, but didn't take it personally. Louis scrambled into the tree, followed by his sisters and brother.

"Georgina? George?" she recognised the voice.

"Aimée! What are you-? Turn it down!" she yelled, conscious that someone else might hear her.

Aimée was muttering instructions to someone else. "Ben, turn it down. Yeh, it's working. We've reached District 11. Can we get through to District 2?"

"Aimée!" George's feet pounded the ground, and she could see the children in the trees.

Faster, she had to go faster. Aimée began talking gibberish in her ear.

"Wait, what?" George winced. They hadn't turned it down.

"Are you in District 11?" Aimée wanted to confirm.

"Yes! Yes!" George nodded as she ran, a hand on her aching ear. "There's some sort of rebellion! I'm with-"

"Rebellion? Hear that, Ben? Did you get that?" Aimée paused, apparently he had. "Brilliant! What are you doing?"

"Trying to escape!" George burst out. "I'm not a superhero!"

She could hear Louis disagree in the tree above her. She kept running; the children were doing well.

"Aww, you should have been egging them on!" Aimée sounded disappointed, as if there were no more prawn-cocktail crisps in the supermarket. "Never mind. Maybe next time."

"There won't be a next time!" George spat out. "Oh, crap."

The orchard had finished. In front of them were miles and miles of corn. Tall corn, but it's not the same as being able to his in a tree, off the ground, away from those below you who want to shoot you while you sleep.

The children were hanging on the lower branches, and dropped to the floor, wondering what to do.

"Come on," George told them, beckoning them into the corn. "Join hands."

"Join- Are you with someone?" Aimée asked from her end of the communicator.

"Five people, actually," George said, somewhat bitterly.

She concentrated, trying to make the children invisible as well as herself. She succeeded, though Aimée's voice was an annoyance. The children made small noises of amazement at being invisible, and Louis tested unjoining hands, only to find himself visible again. Lula gripped his wrist, and he disappeared.

Aimée was still talking.

"What are you doing now? Heading for the Capitol?" Aimée asked.

"No, I'm going North," George scowled.

"Technically, you're going North-East," a male voice.

"Is Ben there?" George smiled, against her will.

"Yes," Aimée seemed to be occupied with something. "Ah! You're heading straight for Joe and Paulina! They're going North too, it seems. Crossing into District 6."

"District 6? What's that like?" George asked, still wincing at the volume of Aimée's voice.

"Transportation," Aimée said immediately. "But that's all we've got. You should reach Joe and Paulina in a few days, if you hurry. They have a mountain range to cross, so… Ah! We've finally reached Imogen! We'll be in contact. Keep safe, and insight more rebellions."

George almost swore at her as she left, but remembered the presence of the children.

"Who were you talking to?" Louis asked, still invisible.

"Her name's Aimée," George said gently. She hesitated, before adding: "She's a nuisance."

_Will they manage to meet with Joe and Paulina? Next Chapter: Imogen in District 13! Let's see what games are being played here…_


	12. Chapter 12

_Hey guys! Say "Hola" to Chapter Twelve, where we get to see Imogen playing Detective… ;)_

**CHAPTER TWELVE.**

It was dark, but then again, Imogen was used to being awake when it was dark. Her hands glowed menacingly, and she worked on calming herself down. She had to investigate this place, and she couldn't do that if she was poisoning the majority of the population with radiation.

Jayk had returned to his usual place outside her door. Except now, he was more of a guide than an armed guard. Instead of his uniform, he wore baggy, khaki trousers with a stained vest top. Sometimes, if he felt cold, he'd wear a leather jacket not unlike her own.

"Hey," he greeted her, as she left the confines of the cell that had become her home over the past few days. "District 11."

He handed her a piece of paper with details of another uprising in Panem. Imogen eyed the tattoo on his arm that told him the timetable for the day. As Imogen wasn't on a timetable, and his job was to watch her, his was blank. He often checked the timetable out of habit, however.

"District 11?" Imogen asked vaguely.

She found that the vaguer you were, the more concise people became.

"The deal with food, and stuff," Jayk told her, and they began to move towards a communal dining hall. "You know, crops and all that. A large population, very strict security and a lack of love for the Capitol."

"That much is apparent," Imogen agreed, reading the details. "A forcefield?"

"No idea how they managed to get their hands on one of those," Jayk shrugged. "It's a poor district."

Imogen nodded. "I see."

She did, too. All too well. Someone was helping them, or had been, because up until the forcefield District 11 had been quiet and nobody had dared defy the peacekeepers.

"I think the President wants to see you today," Jayk said, casually, as if he could somehow get the meeting into Imogen's subconscious.

"No," she said, glaring at the food laid out for everyone. More slop.

Jayk sighed. "Why not?"

Imogen shot him a look. "She looks at me like I'm some sort of weapon."

Jayk sat at a table with her. "But you are?"

Imogen glared at him, slammed down the slop and marched off. She heard his chair scrape back as he chased after her; his cumbersome boots were loud on the hard floor.

"Imogen! Wait-!" he was lost, the crowds were entering the mess hall, and he'd been swamped.

Time to explore. She darted round a corner and waited. Sure enough, Jayk charged past, probably going to check her quarters, or the gym. Going to opposite way to her watcher, Imogen managed to navigate the maze of tunnels and corridors until she reached a door which was heavily fortified. She smiled. Here was the real District 13.

A glowing hand was placed on one of the locks, and Imogen melted right throw it and several bolts. It took just under three minutes for her to open the huge door, a heavy metal thing. All doors in the Republic were automated, so this wouldn't have been a problem for her.

The door opened to reveal a dimly-lit corridor. All concrete, the rough grey surface was cool to touch. Her fingers trailed the walls, gently making easy grooves with her glowing tips. Like that Greek Legend she managed to get her hands on that time. It was rare for any history to be released in the Republic, but one from outside your region? She could have been arrested for possession of such a thing. History was hidden mostly within the Republic, worried that if it became common knowledge that throughout time Europa was at war and borders to regions were constantly changing. Any thought of independence from the Republic was scorned.

It seemed that the same thing happened here in Panem. Although the Capitol didn't create embargos, but destroyed the opposing districts. Why was District 13 allowed to thrive in this way? Surely the Capitol knew what was going on?

Imogen shook her head; ahead was a light, the end of the tunnel. She refrained from running; the noise could alert anyone down here, though she doubted it.

Wait- no… There was a noise… Lots of noise. Imogen slowed her pace, taking a step at a time carefully. Finally reached the end of the tunnel, her eyes widened at what she could see.

If a Nuclear girl couldn't recognise the creation of Nuclear Weapons, then the world really was messed up. But Imogen could see. There were the essential components for the bombs and missiles were arranged on each station, and a masked worker would join all of the parts together. That's how. That was how they'd evaded the Capitol for so long. Of course! They knew that it was the previous District for Nuclear Weapons anyway, why wouldn't it still be now?

Turning, Imogen sprinted down the tunnel, barely waiting to stop for breath. She slammed the door behind her; she needed to get this information to-

"Imogen!" Jayk waved at her from down the corridor. "What're you doing?"

"I got lost," rubbish lie, Imogen, what are you doing?

Jayk was too good-natured to question her. "You have a compass on your belt! How can you-? Never mind. Fancy going to the gym?"

If there was one thing this kid loved, it was the gym. Imogen and her walked up a few underground floors; the gym was near the surface, as there was a training facility up there as well. Although that was more of a preparation for war. Barbed wire, mines, etc.

Imogen heard it quietly at first. A high-frequency buzzing. Reaching into her pocket, Imogen brought the communicator to her ear, and immediately recoiled.

"Oww!" she complained, and returned it to her ear gingerly. "Hello?"

She moved over to the corner, hoping to attract less attention. Jayk was too busy pumping iron. Imogen hissed into the communicator. She could hear something on the other end. What was-?

"IMOGEN!" Aimée's voice burst into her brain, and Imogen almost fell over.

"Wha-? Turn it down!" Imogen hissed.

"We've got a bone to pick with you!" another voice.

"Is that Ben?" Imogen asked, confused.

"Yes, but that's not the point," she could see Aimée's exasperated expression. "Why on earth are you in District 13? We've been trying to reach you for hours!"

"There's an underground civilisation," Imogen whispered. "Look, I'll contact you later. Now… well, it isn't a good time. Understand?"

Aimée began to object, but Imogen switched off the device. Jayk approached, asking her to count his press-ups, because he became so engrossed with the technique last time that he completely forgot his numbers after two hundred.

_Whooo~~~ Let's see what the Republic makes of Imogen's discovery. Next Chapter… I haven't decided yet, so it'll be a surprise. _ _See you soon!_


	13. Chapter 13

_So, you guys who don't like my stories…. __**Stop reading**__! This story had a specific target audience anyway, so "Jay" if you don't like it, don't read it. You're wasting my time because I have to write this stupid message to you. And all you other idiots out there. But to the others who like this, carry on!_

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN.**

The train station had been the easy part, it seemed. Just jump out of the coal, sprint across the tracks, happen to come across the only hole in a huge chain-link fence and squeeze through. Even then, it would have been easy just to open the fence and walk in. But the weird part was the District itself.

District 1 reminded Tori of an old film she'd seen when she was tiny. Reminiscing now, she recalled its name. Edward Scissorhands. Because the buildings here were all the same, identical, except for their alternating, bright colours. Pink, yellow, green, blue, pink, yellow, green… It went on and on and on. And behind this road was another road, and behind that another. A grid, of identical houses. No individuality whatsoever.

This freaked Tori and Alannah out, but Rufus was amazed at the standard of living in District 1. It _was_ the luxury District, meaning it dealt in all those tiny consumer goods that aren't needed, but necessary for Capitol life.

Tori shuddered. On each street corner stood a huge pole with a giant loudspeaker on the top. This reminded her of a prison. A colourful one, but a cage nonetheless.

A few minutes of walking took them into a town centre. Red brick pavement in a curved square plaza, with a small fountain in the middle. This was obviously trying to replicate the artwork seen in the Capitol's streets. There were shops all around this area, some stores sold clothes, others polished diamonds or jewellery. One was an elaborate baker which brought Rufus to the window, mouth drooling.

Alannah soon noticed that the boy's scruffy clothes were getting them noticed. She and Tori obviously passed off as those kind of girls who were trying to be manly, but Rufus' clothes were torn and he'd lost a shoe on the coal-train.

She whispered her theory to Tori, who honestly knew nothing about fashion. But with a quickly magnetic tug at the metal zip on a man's fat wallet, the three of them didn't hesitate to take the money and dump the leather.

Rufus made a beeline for the cake store, but Alannah and Tori steered him into a clothes shop.

He came out dressed in clothes they considered normal, not too glittery or metallic. A dark green shirt, red scarf, and a pair of baggy jeans. And some spongy trainers which were so comfy he refused to take them off in the shop.

"Now… where to stay?" Tori frowned.

There were trees; they lined the streets, cut into different shapes and sizes. No sleeping in them, though, they'd be seen for sure. In order to think about this, they stopped in a café, a rare experience that Rufus had never had before. He ordered some tea, a strange pink concoction which Tori decided was strawberry flavour.

A television was blaring, showing messages form the Capitol. At first Tori watched these with Alannah, but soon got bored of the repeated messages. Until-

"Tori, look!" Alannah pointed to the screen.

A woman with grey hair, flickering on the screen. Someone was trying, and failing to tap into the frequency. The café owners watched, alarmed, as the message was abandoned and instead, only a picture of a mockingjay was broadcast.

"What is that?" Tori asked.

"A mockingjay," Rufuse told them. "A messed up experiment gone wrong."

The girls looked interested, but a shifty looking character brushed past them.

"If you want to know the real reason behind the bird, follow me," a raspy voice hissed at them.

The figure left, dressed in a long, black, hooded coat. Alannah slammed some coins down and the three of them left the shop in a hurry. Alannah, being extremely fast, caught up with the stranger in no time. Tori floated above them, keeping an eye of Rufus, who was having a hard time blending in despite his new wardrobe.

The woman went into the back of one of the shops; Tori recognised it as the cake store. Floating down into an alley, Tori could see through a window the bird called a mockingjay, being iced onto a cake. What is with that bird?

"You guys need a place to stay?" it was a woman talking to Alannah in the kitchen.

Alannah looked suspicious. Tori entered, and the woman removed her coat, revealing blonde, spikey hair and dark circles under her eyes. Her husky voice seems to be natural, and Alannah's surprised that the woman isn't actually a man.

Rufus blundered inside, startled and lost.

"Yeh, we need a place," Tori said warily.

"What was this thing about the bird?" asked Alannah.

The woman smiled, and led the three of them into a back room. In this room were another butch-looking woman and two men, both of whom looked rough and angry, therefore scaring Rufus. Tori and Alannah sat, but Rufus hovered about behind them, sometimes peering through the curtains to see a peacekeeper. His freckled face paled, and he tugged at Tori's sleeve nervously. She shrugged him off, frowning as the blonde woman began to explain.

The mockingjay, this mutant bird, was the symbol of rebellion throughout the districts. If you saw a mockingjay, it meant that there was safety for the rebels.

"Hence why Sparkle's cake is being iced into a mockingjay," the woman told them.

Apparently Sparkle was the butch-looking woman in the corner. Rufus gave her an uneasy smile.

The woman carried on. Apparently District 13 wasn't destroyed at all, and the rebellion was focused there. She finally grinned.

"Fancy coming with us?" she asked, nodding at the others.

Tori and Alannah looked at each other.

"Well- Ouch!" both girls doubled over at once.

A small wave of her hand lowered the volume of the communicators that Tori had forgotten she possessed. A protective hand went to the side of her head, and she noticed Alannah did the same.

"Guys!" Ben's voice, happy and bouncy.

"Ben?" Alannah and Tori exclaimed in unison. "The communicator can't reach this far?"

"Not usually," he admitted. "Anyway, well done! You're the only ones on course!"

Alannah's eyes widened, and she looked at Tori, who was lost for words.

"What do you mean?" Alannah finally asked.

"Well, you two are the only ones headed for the Capitol," Ben admitted. "The others have all become side-tracked towards District 13."

"How did that happen?" Alannah inquired.

"Well, Imogen landed there-," Ben clarified, giving Alannah and Tori time to mutter "Germans" under their breath. "-and Paulina and Joe seem to think North is the best way to go. Haven't been able to get in touch with them yet."

"I see… Well, should we still head for the Capitol?" Alannah asked.

Her sentence meant shock radiated on the faces of the rebels in the house.

"I believe the rebels are meaning to attack the Capitol soon. However, Aimée's tapped into their communications, and they say they need their Mockingjay? Know what that is?"

Tori shrugged. "It's bird. The symbol of their rebellion."

"I think you need to focus on Paulina and Joe," Alannah decided. "Do you know where they are?"

"District 12," Ben said immediately.

Tori nodded. "District 12? Well, they won't bump into us, anytime soon."

She could see Ben agreeing with her. "Yes, it does seem a bit far-fetched that they'd suddenly veer off-course and bump into you in District 1… Well, be careful. I'd wait for the Rebels to make their move; the Capitol will most likely be their target."

Alannah and Tori both nodded, as Ben clicked off. The two looked at each other, and turned to see Rufus and the others looking confused.

"Who was that?" Rufus asked.

"Communicator," Alannah took hers from her ear and tossed it to him.

He inspected it mildly, because even though he was from District 5 and dealt with power and technology every day, this was out of his league. He passed it back, and the others rose from their seats.

"Who were you talking to?" Sparkle demanded.

Tori thought how unlike her name she was. "Our… leader. Kind of. The guy in charge of our project."

"The Capitol?" they all screeched in horror.

One man picked up a metal pipe and made to hit Tori with it, but the magnetic fields around her hands pushed it away effortlessly, as if he had the strength of a two year old. Tori crushed the pipe easily, leaving it looking like someone had trodden on a can. The man threw away his useless weapon, and came at her with a clenched fist.

Quick as lightning, Alannah caught his hand, and gripped. The cracking of broken bones made him scream, and the others backed off to the other side of the room, except Rufus, who took this chance to skirt around them and stand behind Tori.

The man was released, and he scuttled away to the back.

"Thanks for your hospitality," Tori said darkly, her eyes narrowed.

They left the way they'd come in, and Alannah took a small box of cakes that was on the side of the kitchen, unguarded. Tori looked at her, but took a cake anyway.

They wandered through the streets, eventually stopping at the Justice Building. Rufus explained that every district had at least one, and it was hear they held the reaping. He asked a passing man the date, and it took a bit of persuasion to get the information from him.

"As I thought," Rufus grinned. "We missed reaping day by sleeping in that train."

"Reaping day?" Alannah asked.

"The day where children are selected to go into the Hunger Games," Rufus explained. "Except this year it's a Quarter Quell, every quarter of a century, they hold a really difficult games. Like last time, there were twice as many contestants."

Alannah and Tori looked at each other; Rufus had already explained the nature of these games in full detail, but they didn't really want to believe any government could do something so cruel.

"So," Tori broke the silence. "How are we getting to the Capitol?"

_So yes. Next chapter we return to Joe and Paulina, who stumble across the Arena! :O Now way~~~_


	14. Chapter 14

_Paulina and Joe finally join Imogen in District 13! What will they make of it?_

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN.**

Paulina looked at the sun. She wasn't hot, but the sweat dripping from Joe's chin told her he was. If anything in the world was merciless, it was the sun. Oh, and that sadistic President of Panem. What was his name? Frost? Ice?

"Snow," Joe clarified, reading her thoughts. "And I am hot. Can we find some shade?"

Yet on top of this mountain, amongst the rocks and the dirt… and the rocks, there was no shade. No shelter, no release from-

Joe slipped first, rushing headfirst down a steep slope that was becoming more and more vertical with each metre. His momentum became faster and faster, and Paulina watched him go, weak and useless. She couldn't grab him without setting herself on fire, and that would fry him to a crisp anyway.

"Joe!" she shouted; she couldn't do anything else.

He fell, and disappeared from her line of sight. She'd done everything wrong. Dealing with the Peacekeepers, setting the Hob alight. And that guy, Thresh; she'd got Joe to wipe his mind completely for what he did to those people. Now he had no idea who he was, let alone the laws of Panem.

He came flying back towards her, and landed a few metres back, singing and burned. He groaned slightly, and Paulina rushed forward, desperate for him to show some signs of recovery. He rolled himself over.

"There's – ouch – some kind of force field down there… I think it's shielding something important," he made a noise of discomfort as Paulina propped him up against a rock.

She nodded, and darted behind a boulder to get undressed, even though Joe was in too much pain to care. A second later, he could see a flaming figure tear into the sky, burning her way towards the force field. She hovered for a second over the invisible dome, only detected by a small flickering, like a dodgy television screen.

Below was some sort of jungle. In the middle of a mountain? What was this? Since they'd left District 12 there'd been nothing of interest in their path, until now. Just what was it? A large blue pool, and then a ring of jungle around it, save for the lines of sand… It was so puzzling that she went lower to take a look. Ah, a bolt of lightning? Inside the dome… How odd…

Then everything happened at once. Joe looked up as a hovercraft descended from above, and Paulina flew off in shock as the force field exploded with a huge electrical force. A cry escaped her as she slammed into the hovercraft, but had the presence of mind to cling on. The huge chunk of metal flew low above the jungle, and Paulina realised it was some sort of ring, like one gladiators would use. Joe ran for her, ignoring the pain in his legs after hitting the force field.

They gripped hands – Joe's palm connected with her wrist, and Paulina's fingers fastened around his arm. They both felt a bit sick when the hovercraft lurched into the air.

Flying without fire was Paulina's worst nightmare. The clouds were cold (who knew?) and wet, causing her clothes (which Joe had collected on his way to the hovercraft, for which she was now eternally grateful) to stick to her. She was glad she didn't wear white all that often.

They didn't know what was happening when the plane descended vertically into a hole in the ground. Freaking out, Paulina's hand slipped on the hovercraft's metal plating and she fell from her perch, leading to herself and Joe sprawled on the ground. At once, a dozen men pounced on them, cuffing them both and dragging them away. Paulina didn't even have a chance to thank the pilot for the ride.

"Hey, watch it!" she said, as they were forced into a corridor.

There were people staring. Paulina felt grumpy, especially as her clothes were still damp and her hair was falling out of its plaits. She caught the eye of someone in the crowd, someone familiar. Luckily it was a friend, because a few minutes later and Imogen had barged through the crowd.

"What are you doing?" she demanded to the soldiers. "Let them go!"

The soldiers faltered in their orders, and Paulina realised the German had had her usual effect on people. Authoritative as ever, Imogen fought openly about the release of her allies, until eventually the president was called down to subdue her.

"Who are these people?" Coin demanded, her expression as cold as ever.

"My… colleagues," Imogen replied.

Coin raised a straight eyebrow. "Are they… gifted, as well?"

Joe and Paulina exchanged glances, and Imogen nodded, gritting her teeth. Coin smiled, something Imogen was extremely wary of, and Paulina felt a bit intimidated. She was looking at them like they were meat for butchering.

Suddenly, Coin noticed Joe winced with pain. The ride on the hovercraft had strained his arm and he was still damaged from the explosion at the arena. She directed Boggs to take them to the hospital wing, with Jayk tailing behind Imogen.

"Who's your friend?" Paulina teased, and received a dirty look from the nuclear girl.

"Never you mind," Imogen glared. "Besides, what on earth were you doing at the arena?"

"The what now?" Paulina raised her eyebrows.

"The arena," Imogen rolled her eyes. "Have you two been doing any research at all?"

They'd reached the hospital, and Joe was whisked behind a curtain, and yelped anxiously as they began to poke and prod his wounds. Paulina brushed off the nurses trying to help her. One, a blonde woman with blue eyes, frowned.

"Young lady," she was speaking with a motherly tone Paulina had almost forgotten. "If you don't sit o this bed, I will tie you to it."

Paulina blinked, and turned to Imogen.

"Everyone's like that, here," she explained.

"Please, Nurse Everdeen," a Doctor approached, frowning. "Treat the patients with a little more respect, please."

The nurse rolled her blue eyes, and directed Paulina to the bed. The girl sneezed, sending sparks flying and accidentally set the sheets on fire. Panicking, she tried to pat them out but only excited them, increasing the burn that was left after Imogen poured a cup of water on the flames. Imogen gave her a look, and she blushed, mouthing "I'm sorry" at the nurse. Nurse Everdeen smiled, and told her not to mention it.

"Okay," Imogen sat on the bed with Paulina, who was taking a much needed drink of water. "Here's what's going on. This is District 13. It is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. We are needed to observe and… well, aid the rebels if they ask us. Understand?"

"Where are the others?" Paulina was completely off-topic. As usual.

"George is headed into District 6," Imogen told her. "She's got a group with her, hopefully she'll head this way and we'll gain some soldiers from District 11. Alannah and Tori are currently in District 1, headed for the Capitol."

"The Capitol?" Paulina frowned. "Oh, that place we were _meant_ to go to…"

Imogen just looked at her.

_If it helps_, Joe's voice buzzed into their brains. _You could tell us what's on your mind. You look stressed._

Imogen chewed on her lip, and Paulina looked curious. Checking to make sure no Doctors were there to hear, Imogen whispered into Paulina's ear, knowing Joe could hear her thoughts.

"They're making nukes, below us, right now," she whispered.

Paulina blinked. "If they defeat the Capitol, they could affect the Republic."

_Which we're sworn to defend_, Joe added.

"So, what do we do?" Paulina asked.

Imogen hesitated. "We have to destroy their nuclear weapons factory. Without them, they're powerless."

_But they need those, to defeat the Capitol_, Joe frowned from his bed.

"And we need them gone, if the Republic is to be safe," Imogen decided. "Besides, I'm in charge, so I say we blow it up."

"Blow what up?" Nurse Everdeen pulled back a curtain.

Imogen and Paulina looked at each other. Oh dear…

_Katniss' Mum's a sneaky woman! But what repercussions will Imogen's plan have for District 13? :/ Hmmm, not going well for you guys, is it?_


	15. Chapter 15

_Ahh~~~ Time to relax. Bought a new dress today. It's nice. Hope you enjoy this rather short chapter._

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN.**

Imogen and Paulina looked at each other. Nurse Everdeen was looking at them with that stern look only mastered by Mothers and teachers. And right now, both girls felt very small.

"There will be no explosions on this ward," the nurse straightened the covers on another bed. "So if you plan on playing some kind of childish prank, you can forget it!"

Imogen and Paulina sighed with relief. Joe pulled back the curtain, and gave them a wink. Nurse Everdeen continued on her rant about the lack of respect children gave their elders.

"Some parents don't even have a choice over their children's future," she said, somewhat personally.

Joe frowned slightly. So her daughter was mixed up in all of this, too? Catkins, or something. Nurse Everdeen's thoughts were all jumbled up with worry and past memories that kept resurfacing but were being repressed by her conscious. And then there were these games, memories of a television screen as her daughter shot an arrow, bombs raining down on District 12… They must have left the District during that rain of fire as well.

Her memories of home, as well. So many of home, her husband, her daughters as children… She missed it so much it made Joe's heart ache just to be present in her mind.

Withdrawing, Joe remembered his own childhood… Wasted, really. He'd been given the serum at the age of seven, and had spent most of his time at the Madrid Training Academy. Not much fun there. Early morning, late nights, same uniform day after day. And in his case, no friends. He plunged himself into training, soon able to disable the most powerful minds with a blast of mental energy.

He chewed his lip; his Mother had appeared in his thoughts. She was English, a fact the Joe had to hide when training in Madrid. Those with blood from different regions weren't considered "pure", and were rejected into the Valkyrja/Einherjer programme. He grit his teeth in annoyance at the memory.

He was fed up with discrimination, and he admired these people for rising up against their crazy government system. But then, was the Republic so different?

He shook his head, glad that _he_ was the mind-reader. If anyone heard his thoughts, that would count as treason. And treason against the Republic meant being shipped to Russia, and thrown into Siberia or those mysterious states outside of the Republic. He frowned… one was called India, wasn't it? Anyway, not somewhere he wanted to end up.

Nurse Everdeen was preoccupied with the girls, and for that he was thankful. His limbs ached, and he felt weary. He just wanted to sleep, to be honest. Just doze in the sunlight, feel the dry heat of his Region, allow the sun to tan his skin…

"No you don't," Nurse Everdeen shook him. "You've got an examination for those wounds, so wake up."

Paulina sniggered on the other side of the curtain. Imogen would be glaring at her, Joe could tell by the awkward silence.

"I suppose you guys will share a room with me," Imogen said, trying to start conversation.

"She will," Joe said. "The Doctor thinks I'll have to stay here for a little while."

Paulina whooped triumphantly, but sobered when Imogen gave a dramatic sigh. The Doctor came in and announced formally that Joe would be under observation until further notice. Imogen and Paulina left the ward, promising to visit.

Paulina jumped with surprise as she recognised Imogen's shadow. She smiled, resolving to call him that.

"You're still here?" Imogen asked, sounding bored.

Jayk looked hurt. "It's my duty to guard you."

Imogen exchanged looks with Paulina, who giggled. Jayk blushed, and his expression became annoyed.

"I will continue to follow my orders," he said stubbornly. "And President Coin asked to see you."

"No," Imogen glared, walking off.

Paulina took her cue and walked in the opposite direction. With no other option, Jayk turned back towards the President's quarters, to tell her the bad news.

Paulina admired the military precision of District 13 – it reminded her of Warsaw. They were so strict there… In fact, she'd been so happy to get out of there that Panem almost seemed like the better option.

She contemplated the destruction of District 13's nuclear weapons. If that was all keeping the District safe from the Capitol, then they couldn't destroy them… Such a sacrifice of lives was against the laws of the Republic. She needed to aid the rebel's war effort, and she supposed the best way to do that was become a soldier like the rest of them.

_Okay, shorted chapter today, just wanted to sort out the tension between Katniss' Mum and the girls ;) And also figure out in my own head what Europe's gonna do with those nukes._


	16. Chapter 16

_Welcome to "The Nut". Little did George know what she was getting herself into when she decided District 2 was the best route to take._

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN.**

Louis chomped on the last of their apples happily, ignoring the glares he was receiving from his siblings. They'd been trekking for days, across plains and into the mountains. Forget District 13, they'd been _through_ District 6 and now found themselves somewhere different completely!

Now they were stuck. This was no fence around this District, it was more of a wall. The kind you'd see around a castle, but topped with razor wire, like a prison. The word prison made George shudder. She'd been kept in the London gaol for misconduct many a time, often rescued by Tori's quick thinking or Alannah's sexy charm.

"How do we get in?" asked Josef, the eldest.

"It's a big wall…" Lula mumbled, saying the obvious.

Louis looked around at his siblings, and took another bite of his apple. His sister, Pomme, glared at him with an intense ferocity, as if it were her brother's fault that they were in this mess.

"What about that?" Rhia, who rarely spoke, pointed to metal vent in the bottom of the wall.

There was a stream that was trickling down from the mountains that stood high behind the wall. The vent was there to stop the wall's mortar becoming wet or being eroded away by the stream. It must be an old wall.

"You're kidding," George said, her mind flicking back to an old book of her Father's. "It's just like Helm's Deep."

"Helm's what?" Louis asked, throwing what was left of the apple core into a nearby bush.

"Err, a castle," George explained.

The children returned blank expressions to her description.

"You know? A fortress? Big stone building, with towers and a drawbridge and- Ah. Forget it," she waved a hand at them, and they shrugged at each other. "So, let's try this door…"

"George!" Ah, it was Aimée, buzzing about in her ear again.

"What now?" George rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing in District 2?" Aimée demanded. "I thought you were heading for 13 like the others? Joe and Paulina are there now!"

"This is 2?" George ignored her questions. "How do we get in?"

"No idea," Aimée admitted. "You're the one who's meant to be gathering information. Not me-!"

George took out the earpiece and tucked it into her pocket. She approached the vent, and told the children to stay back. She cleared her throat, and flicked her fingers.

Force fields are temperamental things. If you design a forcefield, most likely you'll electrocute yourself, because you need an electric field to create that impregnable, transparent window. But George's were more like Tori's magnetic field. Just a bubble, that formed in a flexible, moveable way, but were harder than any substance on earth. If her willpower was determined enough. But, as George was a lazy girl, her fields were broken a lot.

Not today. She waded into the stream, and instantly regretted her decision. Knee-deep in freezing cold water, she placed a small bubble in the gaps between the grate. Louis began to talk, but was hushed rapidly by his three sisters.

_Concentrate_, George thought to herself. _Come on, it's only metal! You've stopped missiles before, you can bend a-_

The bubble expanded, bending and breaking the grate around it. A doorway big enough for a girl and five children, one after the other, of course.

"Come on!" George beckoned them forward.

Josef held Lula's hand and Louis was between Rhia and Pomme. The five of them waded slowly towards her, and their little white teeth began to chatter with the cold. George beckoned them, and pushed them through the gap, once they'd reached her.

"You're doing great," she said, clambering through the hole once they were all through.

"Where do we go now?" Louis asked, his brown eyes looking at her.

That child had beautiful eyes. Eyes that could make you do anything. And for George, this made her decide their plan on the spot.

"We'll climb up the mountain, through the forest," she said. "There's bound to be someone who can help us."

There was nobody. Two days of trekking through mud, forest, and snow, and the children were done. They couldn't go any further. Nothing would work. George took the last rations out of her bag and spread them round. If they couldn't find civilisation today, they were screwed.

Louis and Lula began to climb trees. They'd been practising, because these pines were tall and straight, different to the tangled branches of the orchard back in 11. They'd link their arms together around the slender trunk, and then push themselves up. George gave Lula her jacket, as the little girl was scratching her skin on her ascent.

George laid back against the tree, and closed her eyes. Birds sang, the kids laughed, a twig snapped… A twig snapped?

She jolted up, and a shield forced it's ways through the trees, knocking a man off of his feet. He was dressed in white, and his gun had been knocked from his hand.

Carefully, George approached him, also telling Josef to get back. That boy was too curious for his own good. Thank goodness Louis was up that tree, or he'd be poking the man with a stick. Was he dead? No; still breathing. George took his identification card. His name was Duke. What a stupid name. No point in being called a Duke if you don't have the title or the lands that go with it.

Taking off the visor, she could see that Duke was not a Duke. His blonde hair, flattened due to the helmet, was cropped short. A light peppering of stubble shadowed his chin.

A stick poked his cheek.

"Louis!" George objected, snatching the object and throwing it into the trees.

The little boy laughed; he knew he could reach to the floor and get another one. But instead he looked at the peacekeeper.

"Why is he here?" he asked.

A radio beeped at his side. Orders were being barked out through a speaker. Tracking rebels. Ah, so there were rebels in this District too? And 6, now that she thought about it. Seems Panem was in chaos.

Her communicator was flashing.

"George?" that wasn't Aimée, it was-

"Imogen!" George laughed. "You're alive! How's District 13?"

"I'm not in 13," she explained. "I was shipped out a day or two ago. Now in 2, watching them blow up some kind of mountain."

"There are a lot of mountains around here," George admitted.

"Wait!" both of them said in unison. "You're in 2?"

A rumbling above them, a terrible, frightening noise that was a hundred times worse than thunder. Thunder didn't come towards you. This did. And at a very, very fast speed.

The ground was shaking. The children had left the trees and were huddling around, shaking with fear. _George_ was shaking with fear. No. Stay strong; you promised Thandi!

Then she saw it. Snow, charging towards them at speeds that nobody but Alannah could dare to outrun. George grit her teeth, her heart racing.

"Argh!" arms up, hands outstretched, bubble forming around them.

_BANG_. The wall of snow hit them so hard it caused George's chest to ache, as if someone had hit her at close range. Ignoring the strain on the bubble, she could feel the children still with her. Terrified, but safe.

She couldn't open her eyes. If she opened her eyes, she'd-

"George!" Imogen was still talking. "Tell me you're not on the mountainside!"

"We're… on the mountainside," George grunted under the strain of so many tons of snow above her.

"Why are you on the mountainside?" Imogen sounded hysterical.

"I don't know!" George shouted back. "Louis did his big-eye thing!"

"Who's Louis?" Imogen cried, exasperated.

"Rue's brother! I don't know? Some boy from District 11!"

"Who on earth is Rue?" Imogen sounded weary now.

Someone else's voice. A girl's. Interested in the mention of Rue. George didn't care. All she cared about was keeping the children alive. Louis was gripping her top.

"The snow's stopped moving," Imogen told her. "Where's your location? Forget that. I'll contact Aimée, and you stay put."

George rolled her eyes, and she could tell Imogen realised how stupid she sounded. Now that the snow had passed over them, they were in complete darkness. Concentrating on keeping the bubble above them, someone cracked a glow-stick.

It was the peacekeeper. Duke sat up, groaning, and looking around in the darkness.

"What happened?" he asked.

The children reached for the light, but he held it out of their reach.

"Give them the stick!" George told him, sweat forming on her brow.

It was a lot of snow. The children hurriedly explained to him all they could, and he passed them the green stick. In order to explain further, they illuminated the wall of white snow, now tinged green by the light. Duke blinked.

"Is that why you're standing like that?" he asked her.

George would have glared at him, but she supposed she looked a bit like Atlas, holding up the world. And the world was heavy. So was the snow.

"Shut up," she said. "If you don't, then we all die."

"Where's my gun?" he asked.

"Snow," she said.

"Where are my colleagues?" he looked around him.

"Snow," she ground her teeth together.

"What's the President's name?" he asked.

She paused. "Snow?"

"You've passed the test," he teased.

He took a package from his bag, which George hadn't noticed, otherwise it would have been raided. Opening it, the smell of fresh bread wafted through the dome, and the children's stomachs began to rumble and gurgle at the scent.

George ignored Louis' attempts to get her to eat, and her eyes squeezed tightly shut, her breathing increasing. Imogen had better get there soon, or else they'd all die.

_Will they die? Depends if I'm cruel enough to kill of one of my protagonists and five children… I wonder if I'll be grumpy enough to do that… Heh heh…_


	17. Chapter 17

_Did George and the kids survive? OH MY GAWD - IMOGEN HELP THEM OUT!_

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.**

Imogen jumped from the hovercraft. Screw Coin. She didn't want her new weapons running about, so Imogen wasn't really allowed to go to District 2 with the other commanders and soldiers (and something called the Mockingjay – no idea) so she was in big trouble with the President already. But these orders now – let your friend die, she's of no consequence to us – were not going to keep her on that plane.

She could hear people calling her name. Some guy called Gale was there – angsty fellow, liked a good fight – and so was Jayk. They couldn't survive a fall like that, but when you've been genetically enhanced you're good to go.

Running as fast as she could across the snow, she tapped her communicator.

"Imogen?"

"Aimée!" Imogen's shoulders sagged with relief. "Thank goodness! I need a tracker on George's position."

"Oh. She's less than a few metres away. Why?" Aimée was frowning.

"She's covered in snow," Imogen didn't want to elaborate, but the girl made her.

"What is she doing, playing in the snow? Doesn't she know there's data to collect?"

"An avalanche landed on her. She's trapped," Imogen admitted.

Aimée remained quiet. Until: "Stop! She's right beneath you now. Get her out of there – air doesn't last long inside a bubble!"

Imogen removed the communicator, and her hands began to glow. The radiation melted the snow rapidly, and steam began to rise, making Imogen wet.

"Come on!" she said, panicking.

It was another minute or two before her hands hit something hard. Something stupidly hard. That was her call. A fierce burst of nuclear energy blew away the snow that sat on the dome, and the bubble beneath her vanished.

She landed on the balls of her feet, and was amazed at the diameter of the forcefield. George grinned weakly; the effort had taken a lot out of her. Her brown eyes rolled back into her head, and she fell to her knees. Imogen caught her, and pulled the girl over her shoulder. A small group of children watched.

"What are you doing with George?" the eldest asked.

"Friends of hers?" a hovercraft was over them now, and rebel soldiers were descending.

The children nodded. Imogen directed them to a ladder, which was pulled up once everyone was on it. There was a peacekeeper down there; she recognised the white uniform. Poor sod, he'd be put through a lot when they returned to 13.

Jayk pulled up the children, his expression angry as he gripped Imogen's hand and pulled both her and her load onto the craft. Imogen ignored him, and sighed with relief as George still had a pulse. It had been a while since she'd seen the English girl. Her hair was a lot longer, and she looked bedraggled and underfed. So did the children, and Imogen told Jayk to get them some food. He guided them away, and was replaced by the kid called Gale.

"Is she alright?" he asked, kneeling beside her.

"No thanks to you," Imogen growled slightly.

Gale didn't take it to heart. "Katniss was just shot."

"Her own fault, went right up to the guy," Imogen had watched the monitors beforehand.

Gale's expression was unreadable, and he called for a stretcher. "Is she like you?"

"Yes," Imogen followed the stretcher, and Gale followed her.

She took a look at his expression. It was just like Coin's. They'd gained another chess piece to play with, and Imogen wasn't happy about giving it to them. First herself, then Paulina and Joe, and now George? It seemed only Tori and Alannah were left to collect. She wondered if they'd made it to the Capitol, yet.

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\**

George woke up and it was dark. Was he in the bubble? No- Imogen had turned up, remember? Then where were the children? Where was _she_?

Err, where were her clothes?

She was in a hospital gown. It was scratchy, too. Not pleasant. Not at all.

Argh! Her thoughts were all over the place. The children. The children. The children. Like Thandi, who was dead now, her thoughts were all about the children. Those dark-eyed children who'd seen so much death and destruction. Where were they?

A door opened, and the lights turned on. It looked like a bunker. Concrete, drab, strip-lights… She stood, and looked around her. Curtains surrounded her bed; she was in a hospital. Or at least a ward of some kind. Pulling one back, she yelped as she bumped into a girl, blonde hair pulled back into plaits.

"Sorry!" they both said, and then laughed a little.

"Look, I need to go-," George made for the door. "My clothes?"

The girl blinked. "Oh. They're being mended."

"Mended?" George asked. Ah yes, the hole in the back of her trousers, from when she was shot. A long time ago, now. "Oh… well, I need to leave, so can you just-"

Bam. Invisible. The blonde girl blinked, unable to believe what was going on. George scooted around her, conscious that if she were visible again then everyone would see a crazy girl in a hospital gown, and if they were behind her, that her pants didn't match her bra. Damn.

She had to find the kids. Where were they? Where were-

"Ouch!" visible, crashing to the ground.

She had to look where she was going, because this was one of many times where she just crashed into people.

Blonde hair, blue eyes, slightly crazy look about him. Also on his backside. He got to his feet, and held out his hand for George to take. Two guys fell into formation around him. Guards?

Taking the outstretched hand, a symbol of goodwill, George got to her feet. The girl from the hospital bay turned up, and gripped George's arm.

"Prim?" the boy asked, looking at her as if she were something painful.

"Hello, Peeta," the girl, Prim, looked a little wary.

Obviously some drama George wasn't involved in, she didn't care, but Prim's grip on her arm was firm, and becoming painful. Why was she bruising so easily? Ah yes, the snow. Too much for her to handle. Stupid mutation not as good as it should be.

Argh! George's thoughts were again all over the place. THE CHILDREN.

"I need to find them!" she said aloud, into the middle of the staring contest.

Both parties blinked. "Who?" the question was in unison.

"These children," George waved a hand, not bothering to explain. "Hey, a lot of people seem to know fo her… Their sister, Rue, was in these games?"

Peeta's face had gone blank, unreadable. He twitched, and George reacted before Prim realised there was a fist coming her way.

"Ah!" willpower at an all-time low.

The field stopped Peeta's blow, but shattered and peeled back into George's outstretched palms. Ouch. Her knees crunched as she fell to her knees, and Peeta was pinned on the wall by his guards, shackles returned to his wrists. George noticed the bloody marks left by their previous wearing.

"Sorry," he apologised to Prim, as he was dragged off.

Another girl appeared on the scene. Prim was kneeling by George, who was watching Peeta being carted off like a lunatic. Then the girl appeared. Dark hair, grey eyes, looking on edge, ready to attack. Her eyes flitted to Prim, and she rushed forward.

"Prim! Are you okay?... Did he get you?" she cupped Prim's face in her hands.

"Katniss," Prim sounded firm but a little impatient. "I'm with someone right now."

Katniss blinked, and noticed George. "Shall I help?"

"I can walk!" George objected, but swayed dangerously as she tried to get to her feet.

Katniss frowned. George decided she didn't like her. Standing there, judging her, like that.

"She's drunk," she accused.

"I've never been drunk!" George retorted. "The Academy would never have allow…ed… it… Wha-?"

Prim had injected her with a shot of something. They were talking, now, Prim and Katniss, but George couldn't hear them. Her eyes were all funny, and her ears were going quiet…

"What did you… do?" she glared, finally, and descended into darkness.

Prim looked to Katniss. "Help me get her back to the hospital. She was looking for some children, too. From District 11."

Prim watched an old pain resurface on her sister's face. Katniss snapped out of it, and nodded. Prim called for w wheelchair, and on the way to the hospital, decided to tell the rest of the news.

"It's Rue's family," she said.

_They've survived. Just. Next Chapter, Paulina and Joe sit in on a military meeting for the invasion of the CAPITOL. Things are going down._


	18. Chapter 18

_Returning to District 13, where our heroes are massing…_

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.**

Paulina looked at her schedule. That weird machine was almost as clinical as her Academy back home. There was no diverting from your schedule, so much so that she and Joe even had a guard each. And theirs weren't fun like Jayk. They just looked grumpy and stopped you from doing anything fun. One had tried to take Paulina's communicator, and she'd become so angry she'd set his gloves on fire. He'd been burned quite badly, the guard, but Paulina's fury meant she hadn't cared. In fact, she bored Ben with a half-an-hour rant about guards and their flammable gloves.

The guy at the end of her communicator had signed off after five minutes, but she hadn't noticed. She could imagine Ben going to get a strong cup of coffee and sighing in copious amounts until Aimée finally asked him what was wrong.

She smiled; her imagination was going wild.

Which is probably why she wasn't happy when a council meeting was stamped on her arm. She went to get Joe; the Spaniard was always sleeping nowadays, and was constantly late. It was as if all of his training had come undone and he'd reverted into a lazy form that preferred to sleep in the middle of the day and wander about at night.

"Joe," Paulina knocked on his door, ignoring the glares from his guard. "Joe, come on, get up."

"_No quiero_…" he groaned, from inside.

Paulina walked in, and found him under the covers, a pillow on his head. She poked him, and he jolted upwards.

"Paulina!" he squeaked.

"Up," she told him, throwing some clothes that were folded neatly on his chair. "We've got a meeting."

He looked startled, probably because he hadn't been to retrieve his schedule for the day. When he did, he groaned.

"You're kidding? A proper meeting?" he put on his serious face, steeling himself for the military tactics and all-out war of politics. "Let's go then."

They arrived just in time, and found they'd been saved two seats at the table. Imogen was standing at the edge of the room, her arms crossed, leaning against a wall. She looked grumpy. The German nodded a greeting, and the two of them approached their seats.

Joe paused.

_She's plotting already_, his head bumped into Paulina's thoughts.

Flames flickered on her hands, burning through her gloves. A few military commanders jumped at this, and she apologised.

_Oh great, now she's really interested in you,_ Joe sighed in her brain.

Paulina glared at him, and realised he was talking about Coin. Yes, she was wearing that expression that was saved for her meetings with Imogen. Weapons, laid out in front of her, in human form. Paulina repressed a shudder.

"Now, as you all know, this meeting is about the war on the Capitol," Coin said.

Paulina blushed, because she didn't know. And Joe had only known a few seconds before as Coin thought it. Imogen looked like she knew, but she wasn't showing emotion today, so Paulina felt a bit lost.

Coin talked about the teams and the pods (traps, Paulina realised), and the peackeepers. She also talked about Snow, the President of the Capitol. He'd have to die.

Paulina shivered. She was so cold and mechanical about things. Like a robot.

There were robots in The Republic. Only the rich could afford them, but old models were coming on sale in the black markets, and they were growing more popular.

"What do you think?" Coin was asking her.

Paulina blinked. Joe spoke.

"We're not authorised."

Coin looked like this wasn't what she wanted to hear. Imogen shifted her position; waiting to see what would happen. Paulina looked confused.

"The serum is to be used in emergencies," Imogen clarified. "Even then, we need a large amount of clearance from each Region and the Top Government in Europa."

They were talking about the serum. Imogen was lying; they were allowed to test citizens of Panem and if they were compatible, inject the serum. But she understood why she'd said it, because Coin was looking not to create protectors, but human weapons.

The door opened. George entered, her brown eyes scanned the room, and she held up a tattoo on her wrist. Imogen moved over and she joined her on the wall. Paulina was glad to see her up, though she looked a bit pale.

"So you deny us access to you serum?" Coin challenged.

"That is correct," Imogen nodded.

Coin looked like she'd trod on something messy and disgusting. She nodded.

"Well, will you be on the front line?" she asked, direct and straight to the point.

Of course, she wouldn't mind a human fireball protecting her troops, or a nuclear girl poisoning the Capitol with radiation. And of course, the girl who could create force fields and slip through security with invisibility. Plus Tori and Alannah were approaching the Capitol as they spoke. Did she know about them? Apparently not, as they weren't mentioned.

Imogen paused, contemplating the situation. Joe frowned.

_She's backed us into a corner_, he said. _They've been hospitable, and if we're of no use they'll kill us. Say yes._

"Yes," Imogen nodded. "We'll need instructions on what to do."

"Very well," Coin nodded. "That will be discussed."

Imogen's jaw was set with annoyance, and George looked at her, worried. The meeting was long and dull, and the four of them joined together at its end, an hour later.

"The front line?" Paulina said doubtfully.

"We'll be fine," Imogen assured her. "Come on, we'd better get training if we're going to survive-!"

They'd left the hall, and George had been flattened by five children, all crying or laughing at the sight of her. George grinned, and noted the surprised expressions on their others' faces.

"Erm, these are my friends," she said to the children. "And these are the children I was travelling with."

The children all said "hello" in unison, before badgering George with questions. She laughed at the five of them, and told them to go back to the learning facilities. Louis was bored learning about nuclear technology anyway, he told them.

Imogen was reminded of 13's nukes. They were still a threat to the Republic, if it came to it. She'd need to get rid of them quickly, before the assault on the Capitol began.

"Go!" George nudged the five kids down the hall. "No idea where the Father is. Mother and older sister dead."

Paulina made a sad noise in her throat, and hugged George kindly. The girl laughed at her, and Joe was watching Imogen think with interest.

"How do plan to achieve that?" he asked her.

The other girls looked perplexed.

"You know me and nuclear stuff," she grinned. "Can't keep my hands to myself."

_Imogen's not thinking this through, methinks. :3 Next Chapter: Tori and Alannah in the Capitol!_


	19. Chapter 19

_Tori's group have finally reached the Capitol! But things do not go quite as planned…_

**CHAPTER NINETEEN.**

Alannah squeezed through the gap, before pulling Rufus through to the other side. The boy wasn't with it, mainly because the Capitol was so extravagant and colourful he thought he'd stepped into a dream. Now they were standing on a lime-green pavement, in an alley flanked by two sky-blue houses. Tori looked at the colours in distaste.

"Well, we're here," Alannah said.

Tori knew what that statement meant: What do we do now?

"We'll have to leave this alleyway soon," she said. "When it's dark."

"It's never dark," Rufus said glumly. "Their streets are light all of the time. Using power from District 5."

Alannah noted the tone of bitterness in his voice when mentioning his district. She exchanged glances with Tori, who'd raised an eyebrow.

"We've got to leave sometime," Tori decided. "May as well be now."

They positioned themselves carefully. Their District 2 clothes wouldn't cut it here; the people dressed in such strange fashions that they'd be noticed immediately. If you're _not_ dressed in bright colours, then you're noticed straight away.

"Stay quiet, stay down," Alannah told them.

Tori picked up a metal rod from the ground. It seemed even alleys in the Capitol contained junk. Useful junk, but junk nonetheless.

Alannah disappeared; her movements too fast to see. She returned, an armful of coats weighing her down.

"I think I knocked over a few people," Alannah threw the coats on the floor. "Well… more than a few."

"Where did you get these?" Tori asked.

"Someone left their house unlocked," Alannah grinned. "These Capitol folk are idiots."

"Do you think there's _any_ crime here?" Tori asked.

"There must be… But looking at the place, I can't see any," Alannah buckled the bright orange, furry coat and examined her reflection in a puddle. "Ah, this is perfectly hideous."

Rufus was wearing a lime-green cap and a fuchsia jacket. He laughed at Tori's choice – a yellow raincoat with bright blue polka-dots. She pulled up her hood.

"Will we be noticed?" she grinned.

Rufus stuck his head out of the alleyway, and observed the crowds. "No. Don't think so."

The three of them pulled the coats up high, and left the safety of the alley. Eyes down, feet forward. Left, right, left, right… Keep going.

Tori was panicking. Alannah looked at her, and noticed a lot of metal objects leaning towards her. The lamp-posts (great curly, decorative things), the bins (odd, shiny tubes for waste), even the earrings on the people who passed.

"Calm down," Alannah whispered.

Tori gulped, and nodded. They passed a number of colourful people, of all shapes and sizes. One on them looked like a huge ladybird, and Tori had to stop for a moment to stare at her as she walked by. Another step took them towards someone who looked just like an extinct bird Tori had seen in a book, an ostrich. Except she was blue. A tiny, thing body, very tall, and stick-like legs. But hips at least half a metre wide, covered in bright blue feathers.

"Keep walking," Alannah gripped Rufus' arms and ragged him along.

They began to calm down; nobody had challenged them or got in their way. They weren't suspicious at all. Alannah bumped into something white. White? Such a bland colour in this colourful city. Tori stumbled into her friend, and her hood fell down.

"Oops," she paused.

Peacekeepers. Just keep calm. Calm and they won't notice your suspicious behaviour…

"Run!" Rufus sprinted around the corner, running for his life.

Alannah zoomed away, and Tori felt her feet pound the colourful, tiled street as she ran after the red-haired boy. She'd kill him when this was over and done with.

"Hey!" peacekeepers behind them, sounded like a whole platoon.

"We are so screwed!" Rufus shouted back to her.

They carried on running, their hearts beating so hard it hurt them, and each breath just seemed to take up time. Tori pushed herself forward, because becoming a prisoner of the Capitol wasn't an option.

"Wrong way!" Alannah shouted as she zoomed past, bowling into some Peacekeepers. Tori grabbed Rufus' arm and dragged him the other way, stumbling over the men in uniform. A hand gripped her ankle, and she fell, pulling the boy down with her.

"No you don't!" metal helmet – crunch. Metal bracelet – bent. Metal toe caps – crushed.

Soon the peacekeepers were howling in pain, and Tori and Rufus scrambled away.

"Where is she?" Tori yelled.

People were definitely staring now. Ergh, stupid coat. Tori tore hers off; there was no point keeping it on. It was making her hot, and slowing her down. Alannah's was discarded on the street, so Tori assumed she'd come to the same conclusion. Rufus' cap had been blown off, revealing his ginger hair.

"Oomph!" Tori felt a blow to the back of her head, and stumbled forwards.

Rufus felt her hand slip from his, and skidded to a halt, turning to retrieve her. A sharp pain in his leg coupled with a _bang_ told him what he feared. Blood seeped through his trousers and ran down into his shoes.

Collapsing onto his other knee, he looked for Tori - she was on the floor, face-down, blood leaking from a small wound on the back of her head, near the base of the skull. She was unconscious. Where was-?

Alannah jumped on the approaching peacekeepers, and her enormous strength rendered them helpless in a manner of minutes. As the citizens of the Capitol ran, screaming, she knelt by Tori, who groaned slightly as she was moved. Rufus bit his lip; nothing could stop the pain in his leg.

"Let's get out of- Argh!" Alannah dropped Tori, and her body became rigid, coupled by a fierce buzzing noise.

A Taser! The electric wire sprouted from her back, and after twenty seconds of the shock, she collapsed onto the floor by her friends. Rufus watched, helpless, as another group of peacekeepers moved in, and picked up the girls. Another noticed him, and with a quick blow to the face, rendered him unconscious.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Alannah's eyes flickered open. Where was she? Tori and Rufus weren't there? What was going on? She strained against the bonds on her wrists, and took the time to observe where she was. A white, tiled room. No windows, just a large light above and below her. A single door, made of metal. Would take a few blows to knock that thing down. And her wrists… they were chained, cuffed, and tied together. As well as her ankles. So here she was, stretched out and suspended in space, helpless.

The word made her angry. _Helpless_.

"Damn!" her voice echoed around the cell.

Again she strained against the cuffs. If she could break the cuffs, then surely the chains would follow? She pulled at them, aggravated at their strength. Blood began to trickle down her arm. She sighed; they weren't leaving her wrists in a hurry, and now they hurt her. Great.

"Aaaarrghh!" a shout, from outside the cell.

The voice was familiar, but she'd never heard a sound like that come from his mouth before.

"Rufus?" she shouted. "Rufus!"

No answer, but muffled shouts were still echoing down the corridors. Alannah could feel the cuffs digging into her wrists again. What were they doing to Rufus? Where was he? Tori? Was she okay?

Worry was making her insane. If the Capitol were torturing her friends, they were torturing her as well. Another tug against the cuffs, another yank on the chains…

And her hands came free.

_Alannah's on the warpath. I'd steer clear, if I were you. Not sure what's happening next… It'll be a surprise for us all! :O_

_Much thanks to ~__xxxxTwilighter For Everxxxx__ as your reviews really got me writing! :D Keep reading, if you enjoy. _


	20. Chapter 20

_The battle in the Capitol commences! :O_

**CHAPTER TWENTY.**

George felt sick. Not because of the plane, that would be silly. But because all she'd had for breakfast was the usual grey slop they dished out in District 13. She almost missed 11, because despite their crazy peacekeepers, they had good food. Just remembering their seedy loaves of bread, the juicy apples… Her stomach gurgled, and one of the doctors looked at her.

Paramedics. For the war. District 13 was finally invading the Capitol, it seemed. About time too, because George wanted to find her teammates. She hadn't seen Tori and Alannah for weeks, maybe even months, and she missed Tori's optimism and Alannah's jokey attitude towards everything.

She wondered if they were still smiling. _She_ wasn't. There were some kids on this craft who looked like they should be in a playground somewhere, doing hopscotch.

One was Prim, the thirteen year-old who'd looked after her when she was ill. The blonde girl gave her a small roll of bread, and George chomped on it happily.

"Are you scared?" Prim asked quietly.

"No," George rolled her shoulders. "But I'm worried about what will happen if we lose. For the kids."

Prim almost smiled. "I hope Katniss will be alright."

George almost rolled her eyes. This kid loved her sister too much. I mean, there's such a thing as love between sisters, but this was in the extreme sense of the word. Prim didn't do things by halves, and Katniss was one of the most important things. And some cat called Buttercup. Ugly thing.

"She'll be fine," George assured her. "What about you? Are you prepared?"

Prim nodded. "Of course," she tapped a first-aid bag at her side. "Ready and waiting for orders."

George paused. The country of Panem zoomed beneath them, from large blue lakes full of silver fish, to great green forests crawling with bears and wild dogs… It was beautiful, in a sad way. Nobody could appreciate it. Those in the Districts couldn't, as they were kept in the Districts, and the Capitol people despised nature anyway.

Prim saw her looking.

"Is your country like this?" she asked. "Like Panem?"

"The Republic is different in some respects," she said carefully. "We have regions, much like your Districts, but nobody's fenced in. And our government is different. Small local councils feed into a large union for all of the regions. It's top down, like most government systems, but it seems to work…"

Prim remained quiet. "You sound like you're missing something out."

"I suppose I am," George said quietly.

Prim waited. She was a patient girl, and they had some time before they reached the Capitol, anyway. As George wasn't going to speak willingly, Prim prompted her.

"Where do you fit in?" she asked.

George looked at her. "What?"

"Where do you go?" Prim repeated. "I mean, where are you from?"

"Oh… Well, I live on an island," George said slowly. "So, really, we just do our own thing while the Republic does the work…" she fell quiet for a moment. "…you know, apparently our countries were allies in the past."

Prim looked surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. Weird, isn't it?" George laughed. "Ah!"

She'd seen it. They city in the distance, already blackened by smoke from the firebombs. George flexed her fingers; small bubbles appeared in the air and disappeared. She had to be strong now, because the kids were waiting for her back in 13.

"Stay safe, Prim," George told her, and she jumped from the plane onto the smooth tarmac.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Imogen entered the bunker, unseen. This was probably because the only ones left behind were the elderly and the young. Everyone else was on the front line, leading the war against the Capitol.

The three missiles stood ready, each aimed at one place. Imogen approached warily, and placed her hands on the nearest missile, labelled with a complex series of numbers. The weapon thrummed with the energy that sat so passively within it. Imogen paused, taking a deep breath.

Gently, her hands melted the outer shell, and she could see the inner mechanisms of the missile. She smiled; and reached for it, her hands still glowing.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Joe ducked; mud and tarmac and tiles poured over him. He was no use here, and Coin knew this. He could see Paulina – a bright orange dot in the sky – and she was raining fire down up the Capitol. A human flame-thrower. Coin had hit the jackpot.

He was meant to be searching for Snow. The mansion was ahead, and the memories of the dying peacekeepers were fresh. He was in some sort of presidential bunker, a garden? How could they reach it, though?

"I know his location!" he shouted over the bombs and the gunfire, and the screams.

His officer in command nodded, and waved him back, calling for his squad to retreat. Joe ran through the collapsing buildings, dodging a large shard of glass as it landed near him. He let out a noise of panic, but it was unheard during the fighting.

He ran into the camp, and stopped by the command tent, bent double and gasping for breath. His commander pushed him inside.

"He's found him," he told Coin, after a salute.

She stood up from behind her desk, wearing an expression Joe thought seemed slightly manic.

"Where is he?" she demanded.

_In a garden, _Joe explained, still too tired to speak.

Coin looked shocked to hear his voice in her head; an expression he wasn't familiar with when it displayed itself on her face. He straightened, but his chest still heaved from running all of that way.

"Search the holo for a garden," she directed. "Plutarch? Do you know of this?"

A fat man, Joe had seen him in meetings. "Yes, Snow has a rose garden within the mansion."

"He's in the mansion?" Coin seemed insulted. "Well, let's get him. Soldier Álvarez, you'll help on this mission."

Joe felt his stomach plummet. "Well… okay…"

"Take the invisible girl with you."

_It seems Joe's in charge of getting Snow captured. Anyway, next Chapter is more fighting and shooting and all that stuff ;)_


	21. Chapter 21

_Alannah's escaped from the Capitol, and stumbled into an all-out war!_

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.**

Alannah stumbled through the streets, Rufus and Tori over her shoulders. She was glad she was strong and fast; without her abilities they'd still be there. She could feel the bombs more than hear them. The ground shuddering beneath her feet, like it was in pain as well as she was.

Her wrists hurt. She'd finally broken them, and charged through the door. Four large, metal bolts make quick work when your that angry. She'd run down the corridor, and found Rufus tied in a similar way to herself, cuffs attached to his wrists, dangling from the ceiling as a lash slapped against his bare back. The kid was only fifteen!

Slamming the guards into the wall, she'd pulled him down, and found Tori suspended in her own cell, unconscious. What they'd done to her, she didn't know. And she didn't want to know.

She fell. Another bomb, just metres from her. Lucky she was so fast, because she got out of there, whereas some poor citizens weren't fast enough.

"Gotta keep going…" she muttered to herself.

"Going…?" Tori was awake, but only just.

"Keep still!" Alannah urged her.

She tried, but they fell forwards, dropping Rufus and Tori was sent flying. Luckily her ability of flight made it easier for her to stop.

Looking around, Tori knew what they were standing in was the middle of a war. Behind them, a sloped pavement, where people were scrambling away from. Injured children, spread out in front of her. Medics rushing in. Ah, that was good. If medics were here, then there'd be no more-

Bombs. Falling now. What were they doing? Medics were a no-go area, and if they were there, bombs were not! She could see George, now, bending over a patient with a blonde-haired girl. Hadn't she noticed-?

Someone shouted "Prim!" at the same time she shouted "George!". Concentrating on the metal bombs that were now falling from the planes like raindrops from the sky, Tori lifted them back up, and flung them to the side, where they blew up a pink and purple house. The force from the explosion was huge; surely they didn't imagine the medics would have survived that?

She was running as fast as her wobbly legs would carry her. George looked distraught; it was her job to look out for things like that. She grabbed Tori, who nearly fell on her, just as a girl in a yellow coat grabbed Prim.

"You're okay, you're okay!" the girl was saying.

"Katniss!" Prim exclaimed.

"We can't heal them all!" A medic shouted at them from the other end of the crowd.

Prim looked devastated. George took out her serum and stabbed it into Prim's arm. The girl cried out, and Tori had to push back Katniss, who looked ready to kill George.

"We need all the help we can get," she told Tori.

Prim gasped at the needle was removed from her arm, and inspected the throbbing area where it had entered her flesh. A strange strength came over her, and she instinctively moved over to a dying child. The little boy was crying, tears rolling down his tattooed cheeks.

Prims palms rested on his leg – devastated from an earlier explosion – and they began to glow. The others watched, slightly horrified and yet amazed at his flesh beginning to reform, and knit itself together. Soon, the child was back on his feet. George rolled her eyes.

"I should've known Prim wouldn't have an aggressive ability," she sighed. "That's what we need, really."

"What was that?" Katniss asked them, holding her sister close.

"A serum that-," Tori stopped, retching.

Alannah suddenly appeared, as she'd been bandaging Rufus while all this went on. "Let's go. You need to get out of here."

Tori nodded in a queasy way. Leaving George behind, they stumbled through the explosions and gunfire. More than once Tori had to fly out of the way of approaching bullets.

"We're on your side!" she'd shouted at one rebel.

She turned to Alannah. "Are we?"

"I think so," Alannah agreed, and shifted Rufus onto the other shoulder.

They rushed through crowds of rounded up women and children, surrounded by gunmen. Alannah looked around at the guns positioned on top of the colourful, extravagant houses.

"Duck!" She pulled Tori down, as more gunshots erupted around them.

It seemed the remaining peacekeepers would rather fight than be captured. Alannah picked up a brick and threw it at the nearest one, crashing into his visor and nearly knocking his head off.

"Are you nuts? Surrender!" she shouted at him.

The little of his face she could see turned red, and he lowered his gun.

"You can't tell me what to do!" he shouted back at her. "You're a Rebel!"

"I'm not a rebel!" she retorted. "Well, I'm not on your side, either!"

"Then whose side are you on?" A rebel gunman asked from behind her.

Tori held back a laugh. The girl had managed to stop the gunfire. Alannah blushed, and began to shout some abuse back at the gunman. The rebels laughed at her, and Tori could see the peacekeepers smirking as well.

Alannah approached the nearest peacekeeper and pushed his chest, making him take a few steps back.

A roll of laughter from both sides. Rufus groaned at the noise, and Tori knelt beside him. Alannah was still busy making a fuss, and she whistled to get her attention. Alannah saw Rufus struggle to his feet, the bandages on his back turning slightly pink as blood began to seep through.

"Rufus!" she exclaimed, rushing forward.

The rebels and peacekeepers stepped forward out of curiosity.

"Who's your friend?" the first peacekeeper gestured with his gun.

"His name's Rufus," Alannah told them, her face etched into an expression of concern. "District 5."

"Rufus? The kid from the solar plains?" one of the rebels stepped forward. "Hey, Ru, it's me, Jayk."

"Jayk?" Rufus mumbled, still delirious from the pain. "Oh, hi! Nice day…?"

Jayk held back a smile. He took one of Rufus' arms and put it over his shoulders, as Alannah did the same. Rufus groaned, as the movement shifted the muscles in his back.

"What happened?" one of the peacekeepers dared to ask.

"Whipped," Alannah told them.

The peacekeepers almost looked guilty. The rebels stepped up, and told them they help them return to the base camp.

"We'll help," a few peacekeepers discarded their visors. "He's not the only one who's suffered through whipping."

Alannah grinned. "Then, let's go!"

Dragging Rufus between them, she and Jayk followed Tori through the rubble and corpses that littered the roads. The gunmen behind and around them shot down the odd attacker, and bodies fell to the ground with a loud _thump_.

The camp was just outside the city's borders. The great white wall of the Capitol had been blown to pieces, and Alannah could see the tents and hovercraft on the other side. _Keep going_, she told herself firmly. _If you fail now, Rufus will die. You will die. Tori will… well, she's another problem all together_. Alannah smiled, determined, and rushed forward, almost dragging along Jayk as well as Rufus. Tori flew ahead, deflecting a missile or two, but mainly checking for the best past to take.

"Ergh," a small noise escaped her as she shifted a mound of cars and buses out of Alannah's way.

The girl looked up at her, grinning. Tori smiled back, and grabbed a missile from the air, throwing it back to the left, into another of those ridiculous houses.

"Tori!" Paulina was on her right, covered in fire.

Her form was a black within the fire, with glowing red veins covering her. Her eyes and mouth red dots on her head.

"You're okay!" Paulina sounded just like she wanted to hug her, and Tori was glad she'd developed some measure of self-restraint.

"We need to get to the camp," Tori told her.

Paulina grinned. "No problem."

She dropped to the ground from who knows how high up, and straightened. Reached ahead, a plume of fire melted a path through the wreckage that Tori couldn't move. Concrete melted into the ground, charred black. Paulina turned to see Alannah, who looked impressed.

"No wonder you're the best in your Region," she laughed.

"Only second best," Paulina winked, closing a glowing orange eye. "I'll see you alive, on the other side of this battle, okay?"

"It'd be annoying to die during the last one," Alannah nodded. "I'll be there."

Paulina flew off into the sky, leaving behind a trail of smoke and flames. Alannah pulled Rufus towards the camp. Not far now…

She pulled him through the gap, and Rufus made a small noise as something touched his back. It was a reassuring hand from one of the rebels, but it didn't help him at all.

Tori was pleased to see the peacekeepers and the rebels smile at each other, before the rebels were required to arrest them. She reached out to the commander in charge.

"Be nice to them," she told her.

"You're another of those magical people, aren't you?" she asked her, suspiciously. "Like the mind-reader who was sent to capture President Snow."

"Magical? Well, if you want to look at it like that…" Tori nodded.

The commander sighed. "You'd better come into the command tent. The President will want to speak to you."

"Another President?" Tori frowned. "They'll have to wait. Alannah and I need to see to Rufus."

The commander watched her fly towards the medical tent, and realised Coin wasn't going to like another crazy girl with superpowers running around her new Republic. She worried about them, because she was sure that the President would try to get rid of them if they didn't surrender that serum to her.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Imogen tapped her communicator.

"Aimée? Yeh. Tell command that the nukes are disabled," she said quietly. "Of course I did it properly! I'm not a beginner when it comes to Nuclear technology. Yes, don't worry. Ours is far more advanced."

_I'm wary of Imogen's ulterior motives, but don't worry, she'd only protecting her own back. Nothing will come of it… I hope._


	22. Chapter 22

_After the war…_

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO.**

George broke his arm at the elbow, and allowed the assassin a few moments of pain before kicking him in the head, and securing his wrists with handcuffs.

That was two in the past three days. Someone really wanted them dead.

Tori woke up in her bunk. District 13 had defeated the Capitol a few days ago, and today they were finally decided what to do with it. Snow's execution was today, and Coin wanted the Valkyrja present. Tori approached the unconscious man.

"Another?" she sighed, almost bored of it. "I'm glad you're invisible when you sleep."

"And a light sleeper," Alannah sat up in her hammock, near the ceiling. "Someone else?"

George nodded. Soon, Joe would wake up due to their thoughts, and Imogen would soon follow. Sure enough, there was a knock at their door.

"Your turn?" Joe asked.

There'd been a hired knife to kill them a few nights ago, but the angry, violent thoughts of the would-be murderer had woken Joe in the night.

Alannah's communicator beeped.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Aimée put down the microphone, and span to face Ben, who was poking at a new gadget with a screwdriver. He could tell she was waiting, but made her remain still a little longer until he could see her bursting to talk to him.

"What is it?" he asked, putting down his project.

"District 13 won!" Aimée practically exploded with the news and teleported to right in front of him. "Isn't that great?"

"I can't see how," Ben shrugged. "Because of it we couldn't gain data on Panem, and now they'll have to sart again from scratch. And I bet this Coin woman will be as bad as Snow."

Aimée glared at him, and teleported to the door, where she left the room in a huff. Ben chuckled, and continued with the new health scanner, which would now assess mental damage.

"Ah…" he groaned as it broke in two. "I'll start over."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

George stood with the rest of them, at the side of the hall. Lining the walls were previous victors of the Hunger Games, and this was an impromptu meeting that the Valkyrja were given access to. About a new, final Hunger Games using children from the Capitol. She felt sick.

Paulina was almost on fire next to her, and George put an invisible sheet between them, hoping she wouldn't burn down the building. She was so angry and the decisions being made.

Katniss voted for the Hunger Games.

"Are you crazy?" Paulina burst out. "You've fought this war to stop the Hunger Games! What is wrong with you people?"

"Two wrongs don't make a right," Joe acknowledged.

Imogen shot a glare at them. "We have no right to speak out against their decision, Paulina, Joe. We have nothing to do with this."

"Nothing!" Paulina spluttered. "I burnt down half of the Capitol for them!"

Joe nodded. "This is a bad idea, Imogen."

"Imogen in right," Alannah admitted through gritted teeth. "We belong to the Republic, and not this one."

Paulina kicked out at the table, and stormed from the room. Most of the victors looked guilty, but the motion had been passed. Joe read the thoughts of those present, and realised that most were acting with thoughts of malice. Not good thoughts to begin a new regime under.

"I can't believe this," George shook her head. "So many men and women have died to stop these games. So many _children_."

But they were discussing the fact that Snow had a granddaughter who should participate. George clenched her fists, thinking of Louis and his siblings, who'd been sent back to District 11 without her knowing.

Imogen watched George and Alannah leave the room. Joe apologised, and said he should make sure Paulina wasn't destroying things. Imogen faced Coin, who looked happy with the arrangement.

The execution of Snow wasn't much better. The Mockingjay, who Imogen had learnt was that girl, Katniss, was to shoot Snow. Imogen watched as her bow turned from Snow to Coin, and she lowered George's hands. No invisible bubble to protect that woman. George looked at her strangely, but accepted Imogen's decision.

Coin fell from the balcony, the arrow piercing her chest. Joe used telekinesis to lower her slowly, and his knees buckled slightly under the mental weight of the dead woman.

The Mockingjay was being arrested as they watched, the five of them lined up on the balcony, watching the chaos on the ground ensue below. Men and women shoving, pushing, shouting. Both Presidents underfoot. The hero who had saved them being cuffed and dragged away.

"Can we see the future?" Tori asked quietly.

The others looked at her sadly, because they feared they were.

_Aww. It seems Panem is just as messed up before. Next Chapter : Epilogue._


	23. Chapter 23 : The End

_The final chapter from the Valkyrja… _

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE.**

**EPILOGUE.**

Ah, the sun was warm today. Joe opened his eyes, and watched the sun disappeared briefly behind a wispy cloud. A corn field was a brilliant place to sleep when everyone else was busy in the orchard or playing in the meadows.

"Joe! Joe!" the wind rushed out of him as a dark-skinned boy landed on his stomach. "Come on! Come on!"

Joe was pulled to his feet by Louis, who was grinning happily. He'd had no idea how it happened, but Imogen had persuaded Aimée and Ben for an application to stay longer in Panem, and observe the new ways of life that had evolved from the people.

George had begged them to return to District 11, and sure enough, they'd returned to the golden fields and green trees laden with fruit. It seemed that bombing District 11 wasn't possible, because it was the major producer of food. No, instead the peacekeepers had swarmed through, obliterating human life.

Louis dragged Joe by his hands through the fields, and Joe could see a flaming figure cross the sky above him. Paulina was still angry, even though it had been weeks since Coin's death and the decision for a final Hunger Games. He supposed it was because she was Polish.

Dragged towards their small house – wooden, painted a happy yellow with a blue door – by Louis, Joe entered to see George and Prim working over man who'd lost his hand to a crazy guy with a scythe. Prim's glowing palms rested over the detached hand and the wrist, and within a minute the man was flexing his fingers.

Prim left when he did, waving her farewells to the children, who were running about inside.

George grinned at Joe, and pointed to a sandwich on the table. Thick slices of warm bread and cool butter, accompanied by a hefty chunk of cheese. Joe looked around him; Alannah was tuning a small guitar-like instrument for Joseff. She looked up at Joe and grinned; shortly after the war she'd bumped into that peacekeeper who'd she'd confronted in the Capitol.

His name was Tom, and he sat next her now, staring at her like she was some sort of angel. Joe snorted.

Imogen entered the house, and shook the mud from her boots. She smiled at Joe, and threw her communicator onto the table.

"Aimée wants to know about the new methods of harvesting," she sighed.

"Tell them it's a secret," George laughed from the other room. "It'll drive her crazy."

_Boom_. Paulina had landed with a thud outside of the house, and soon appeared, buttoning up a blouse. She gave them a dazzling smile, and giggled as George stole Joe's cheese from his plate.

"Err, guys," she grinned. "Rufus is stuck in a tree."

"Again?" everyone asked, aghast.

Paulina shrugged. "I don't know how he manages it. I think he believes that the sweetest fruit is at the top of the tree…"

Everyone sighed, and a few of them moved to go and fetch Rufus.

Joe chewed on his bread slowly; it seemed everyone was finally happy. He touched the wooden table, not wanting to jinx it, because who knew when the Republic would call them back to their separate Academies? He tried not to think about.

At least for now, they were content.

_The END! :D Might follow it up with some one-shots, but apart from that, you'll have to look out for my other fanfictions ;) Thanks for reading!_


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